Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC Has $2.43 Million Stock Position in The Charles Schwab Corporation $SCHW

Key Points

• Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in The Charles Schwab Corporation by 10.6% to a total value of $2.43 million, owning 31,005 shares following additional purchases in the first quarter.
• The company reported earnings of $1.14 per share for the last quarter, surpassing analysts’ expectations, with revenues of $5.85 billion, a 24.8% increase from the previous year.
• Charles Schwab announced a $20 billion share repurchase plan, indicating management's belief that its stock is currently undervalued, and has a current dividend yield of 1.2%.

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC grew its position in The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE:SCHW - Free Report) by 10.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 31,005 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 2,962 shares during the quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC's holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $2,427,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Charles Schwab by 1.6% in the first quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC now owns 7,986 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $625,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares during the period. HM Payson & Co. raised its position in shares of Charles Schwab by 0.7% in the first quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 19,271 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,509,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the period. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Charles Schwab by 2.1% in the first quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,551 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $513,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares during the period. Journey Strategic Wealth LLC raised 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 valued at $351,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the period. Finally, Meridian Wealth Management LLC increased 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 worth $485,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.38% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of 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 report on Monday, June 9th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $99.00 target price on shares of Charles Schwab in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Charles Schwab from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Charles Schwab from $106.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, William Blair lowered shares of Charles Schwab from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. Sixteen research 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $99.60.

Charles Schwab Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SCHW traded down $0.44 on Friday, hitting $93.50. The stock had a trading volume of 7,701,819 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,512,390. The Charles Schwab Corporation has a twelve month low of $61.81 and a twelve month high of $99.59. 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 firm's 50 day moving average price is $95.41 and its 200-day moving average price is $86.76. The company has a market capitalization of $169.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.93 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, beating 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 quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.73 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 24.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 8th were paid a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 8th. Charles Schwab's payout ratio is currently 29.03%.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman Walter W. Bettinger sold 173,876 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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. This represents a 22.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Paul V. Woolway sold 3,205 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.20, for a total transaction of $305,116.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 37,983 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,615,981.60. This trade represents a 7.78% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 298,214 shares of company stock worth $29,022,580 in the last three months. Company insiders own 6.30% of the company's stock.

About Charles Schwab

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.