Bain Capital Public Equity Management II LLC Makes New Investment in The Charles Schwab Corporation $SCHW

Key Points

• Bain Capital Public Equity Management II LLC has made a significant investment in The Charles Schwab Corporation, acquiring over 1 million shares valued at approximately $79.6 million, which constitutes about 6.3% of its portfolio.
• Several analysts have updated their price targets for Charles Schwab, with TD Securities setting a new target of $113.00, reflecting a positive outlook with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."
• The company has announced a $20 billion share repurchase program, indicating confidence in its valuation and commitment to returning capital to shareholders.

Bain Capital Public Equity Management II LLC purchased a new position in shares of The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE:SCHW - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 1,016,931 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $79,605,000. Charles Schwab makes up about 6.3% of Bain Capital Public Equity Management II LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Bain Capital Public Equity Management II LLC owned 0.06% of Charles Schwab at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SCHW. Atwood & Palmer Inc. bought a new stake in Charles Schwab during the first quarter worth $25,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. raised its position 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 acquiring an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Charles Schwab during the first quarter worth $31,000. Activest Wealth Management raised its position in Charles Schwab by 6,650.0% during the first quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 405 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 399 shares in the last quarter. Finally, WFA Asset Management Corp bought a new stake in Charles Schwab during the first quarter worth $33,000. 84.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on SCHW. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of Charles Schwab from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $65.00 to $82.00 in a research report on Monday, June 9th. TD Securities upped their price objective on shares of Charles Schwab from $95.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Charles Schwab from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Charles Schwab from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Charles Schwab from $106.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Sixteen 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's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $99.60.

Charles Schwab Trading Up 0.1%

SCHW stock 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 company's 50-day simple moving average is $94.87 and its 200 day simple moving average is $86.06. The Charles Schwab Corporation has a 52 week low of $61.16 and a 52 week high of $99.59. The company 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.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $5.85 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.64 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.73 earnings per share. Charles Schwab's revenue was up 24.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Charles Schwab Corporation will post 4.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Charles Schwab Dividend Announcement

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

Charles Schwab announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Thursday, July 24th that permits the company to buyback $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase up to 11.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, General Counsel Peter J. Morgan III sold 50,016 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.00, for a total value of $4,851,552.00. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Paul V. Woolway sold 10,129 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 18th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $3,524,251.54. This trade represents a 20.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 295,009 shares of company stock valued at $28,717,464 in the last three months. 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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