Ariel Investments LLC Sells 22,633 Shares of The Charles Schwab Corporation $SCHW

Key Points

• Ariel Investments LLC reduced its stake in The Charles Schwab Corporation by 3.9%, selling 22,633 shares and holding 558,167 shares valued at approximately $43.69 million.
• Several analysts have recently raised their price targets for Charles Schwab's stock, with the average target now at $99.60 and a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."
• The company has authorized a $20 billion stock repurchase plan, indicating confidence in its stock's valuation.

Ariel Investments LLC reduced its stake in shares of The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE:SCHW - Free Report) by 3.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 558,167 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 22,633 shares during the period. Ariel Investments LLC's holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $43,693,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of SCHW. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in shares of Charles Schwab by 380.5% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 24,240 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,794,000 after buying an additional 19,195 shares in the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Charles Schwab by 22.5% during the 4th quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 13,144 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $973,000 after acquiring an additional 2,416 shares during the period. Caxton Associates LP bought a new stake in Charles Schwab during the 4th quarter worth approximately $603,000. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC bought a new stake in Charles Schwab during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,455,000. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors increased its holdings in Charles Schwab by 14.9% during the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 266,342 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $19,712,000 after acquiring an additional 34,451 shares during the period. 84.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of Charles Schwab from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $65.00 to $82.00 in a report on Monday, June 9th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Charles Schwab from $117.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Charles Schwab from $102.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Charles Schwab from $106.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Charles Schwab from $107.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $99.60.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Charles Schwab news, insider Paul V. Woolway sold 10,129 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.01, for a total transaction of $911,711.29. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 39,154 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,524,251.54. This represents a 20.55% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Peter J. Morgan III sold 50,016 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.00, for a total value of $4,851,552.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 295,009 shares of company stock valued at $28,717,464 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 6.30% of the company's stock.

Charles Schwab Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of SCHW opened at $95.97 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.55. The Charles Schwab Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $61.16 and a fifty-two week high of $99.59. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $94.87 and a 200-day moving average price of $86.06. The firm has a market cap of $174.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.80, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.96.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.04. Charles Schwab had a net margin of 33.68% and a return on equity of 19.30%. The company had revenue of $5.85 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.64 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.73 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 24.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that The Charles Schwab Corporation will post 4.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Charles Schwab Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, August 8th were paid a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 8th. Charles Schwab's payout ratio is presently 29.03%.

Charles Schwab announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, July 24th that authorizes the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 11.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding SCHW? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE:SCHW - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.