Alliancebernstein L.P. Boosts Stock Position in The Charles Schwab Corporation $SCHW

Key Points

• AllianceBernstein L.P. increased its stake in The Charles Schwab Corporation by 16.0%, owning over 17 million shares valued at approximately $1.34 billion.
• The Board of Directors of Charles Schwab announced a $20 billion share buyback plan, indicating confidence in the stock's value.
• Charles Schwab reported a 24.8% year-over-year revenue growth, with earnings per share of $1.14 for the last quarter, surpassing analyst expectations.

Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its stake in The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE:SCHW - Free Report) by 16.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 17,115,759 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 2,355,309 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned 0.94% of Charles Schwab worth $1,339,822,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SCHW. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Charles Schwab by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC now owns 7,986 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $625,000 after acquiring an additional 129 shares during the period. HM Payson & Co. raised its position in shares of Charles Schwab by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 19,271 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,509,000 after buying an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Charles Schwab by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,551 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $513,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. Journey Strategic Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Charles Schwab by 3.1% in the first quarter. Journey Strategic Wealth LLC now owns 4,486 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $351,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Meridian Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Charles Schwab by 2.2% during the first quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,192 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $485,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. 84.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Charles Schwab Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE SCHW opened at $95.97 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $174.21 billion, a PE ratio of 25.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.96. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $94.87 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $86.06. The Charles Schwab Corporation has a 12-month low of $61.16 and a 12-month high of $99.59.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.04. Charles Schwab had a return on equity of 19.30% and a net margin of 33.68%.The business had revenue of $5.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.64 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.73 EPS. The company's revenue was up 24.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that The Charles Schwab Corporation will post 4.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Charles Schwab declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, July 24th that permits the company to buyback $20.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire up to 11.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Charles Schwab Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 8th were issued a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 8th. Charles Schwab's payout ratio is currently 29.03%.

Insider Activity at Charles Schwab

In other news, insider Nigel J. Murtagh sold 24,096 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.91, for a total transaction of $2,359,239.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 58,999 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,776,592.09. This trade represents a 29.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Walter W. Bettinger sold 173,876 shares of Charles Schwab stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.84, for a total transaction of $17,185,903.84. Following the transaction, the chairman owned 590,734 shares in the company, valued at $58,388,148.56. The trade was a 22.74% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 295,009 shares of company stock worth $28,717,464. 6.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on SCHW. Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Charles Schwab in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Charles Schwab from $107.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Redburn Atlantic raised Charles Schwab from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $65.00 to $82.00 in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Charles Schwab from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Finally, TD Securities increased their price target on Charles Schwab from $95.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $99.60.

Charles Schwab Company Profile

The Charles Schwab Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a savings and loan holding company that provides wealth management, securities brokerage, banking, asset management, custody, and financial advisory services in the United States and internationally. The company operates in two segments, Investor Services and Advisor Services.

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