AlphaQuest LLC Sells 6,972 Shares of The Charles Schwab Corporation $SCHW

Key Points

• AlphaQuest LLC significantly reduced its stake in The Charles Schwab Corporation by 92.6% during the first quarter, leaving it with only 559 shares valued at $44,000.
• Insider Jonathan S. Beatty and other executives sold substantial portions of their holdings, with Beatty reducing his position by 34.01% after selling 6,144 shares for around $594,800.
• Charles Schwab's quarterly earnings surpassed analyst estimates, reporting $1.14 EPS for the quarter, with a year-on-year revenue growth of 24.8% to $5.85 billion.

AlphaQuest LLC reduced its position in The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE:SCHW - Free Report) by 92.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 559 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 6,972 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC's holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $44,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Atwood & Palmer Inc. acquired a new position in Charles Schwab in the first quarter worth about $25,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Charles Schwab by 75.0% during the first quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 350 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Charles Schwab in the first quarter valued at $31,000. WFA Asset Management Corp purchased a new position in Charles Schwab during the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Charles Schwab by 90.5% during the first quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 463 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares during the period. 84.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Charles Schwab

In other news, insider Paul V. Woolway sold 10,129 shares of Charles Schwab stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.01, for a total value of $911,711.29. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 39,154 shares in the company, valued at $3,524,251.54. This trade represents a 20.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Jonathan S. Beatty sold 6,144 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.81, for a total transaction of $594,800.64. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 11,923 shares in the company, valued at $1,154,265.63. This represents a 34.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 298,214 shares of company stock valued at $29,022,580. 6.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. JMP Securities boosted their target price on shares of Charles Schwab from $106.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. William Blair lowered shares of Charles Schwab from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Charles Schwab from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Charles Schwab from $80.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on Charles Schwab from $106.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $99.60.

Charles Schwab Stock Down 5.7%

NYSE:SCHW traded down $5.55 on Friday, hitting $92.09. The stock had a trading volume of 18,234,685 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,548,515. The Charles Schwab Corporation has a 1 year low of $61.16 and a 1 year high of $99.59. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $95.20 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $86.35. The stock has a market cap of $167.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.55.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.64 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.73 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 24.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that The Charles Schwab Corporation will post 4.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Charles Schwab declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Thursday, July 24th that allows the company to buyback $20.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to buy up to 11.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Charles Schwab Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 8th were paid a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 8th. Charles Schwab's payout ratio is presently 29.03%.

Charles Schwab 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.