Aspen Investment Management Inc Raises Stake in The Charles Schwab Corporation $SCHW

Key Points

• Aspen Investment Management Inc increased its holdings in The Charles Schwab Corporation by 48.6% during the first quarter, now owning a total of 24,165 shares valued at approximately $1.89 million.
• Several institutions, including Vanguard Group and Wellington Management, significantly raised their stakes in Charles Schwab, highlighting growing institutional interest.
• Brokerage analysts have increased price targets for Charles Schwab, with an average consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a price target of $99.60, indicating confidence in the company's growth prospects.

Aspen Investment Management Inc boosted its holdings in The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE:SCHW - Free Report) by 48.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 24,165 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 7,908 shares during the quarter. Aspen Investment Management Inc's holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $1,892,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in SCHW. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Charles Schwab by 15.4% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 148,395,252 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $11,616,380,000 after acquiring an additional 19,817,022 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Charles Schwab by 595.7% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 15,488,777 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,212,461,000 after acquiring an additional 13,262,309 shares during the last quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA increased its stake in Charles Schwab by 229.3% in the 1st quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 14,002,078 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,096,083,000 after acquiring an additional 9,749,728 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in Charles Schwab by 12.3% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 82,048,984 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $6,422,795,000 after acquiring an additional 8,954,248 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Charles Schwab in the 1st quarter worth about $440,699,000. 84.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on SCHW. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Charles Schwab from $80.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. JMP Securities increased their price objective on Charles Schwab from $106.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Wells Fargo & Company set a $102.00 price objective on Charles Schwab and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Charles Schwab from $117.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Charles Schwab from $106.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Sixteen 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $99.60.

Charles Schwab Price Performance

SCHW opened at $93.66 on Wednesday. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $95.29 and its 200 day simple moving average is $86.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The Charles Schwab Corporation has a 1 year low of $61.16 and a 1 year high of $99.59. The firm has a market cap of $170.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.18, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.96.

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, 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.64 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.73 EPS. The business's revenue was up 24.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that The Charles Schwab Corporation will post 4.22 earnings per share for the current year.

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. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 8th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. Charles Schwab's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.03%.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Jonathan S. Beatty sold 6,144 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.81, for a total value of $594,800.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 11,923 shares in the company, valued at $1,154,265.63. This trade represents a 34.01% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Paul V. Woolway sold 3,205 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.20, for a total value of $305,116.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 37,983 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,615,981.60. The trade was a 7.78% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 298,214 shares of company stock worth $29,022,580. 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.

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