Banco Santander S.A. Has $3.43 Million Holdings in The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE:SCHW)

Key Points

• Banco Santander S.A. increased its stake in The Charles Schwab Corporation by 168.5%, holding 43,803 shares valued at approximately $3.43 million as of the latest quarter.
• Analysts have given mixed ratings on Charles Schwab, with two sell ratings, four holds, and sixteen buy ratings, indicating a general consensus of "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $99.35.
• The company recently announced a $20 billion stock buyback program, which allows the purchase of up to 11.6% of its outstanding shares, indicating confidence in its stock value.

Banco Santander S.A. raised its position in shares of The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE:SCHW - Free Report) by 168.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 43,803 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 27,487 shares during the quarter. Banco Santander S.A.'s holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $3,429,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Atwood & Palmer Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Charles Schwab during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Charles Schwab by 75.0% during the 1st quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 350 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the period. WFA Asset Management Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Charles Schwab during the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC grew its position in shares of Charles Schwab by 90.5% during the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 463 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 220 shares during the period. Finally, Beacon Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Charles Schwab by 53.1% during the 1st quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 487 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 169 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.38% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Barclays raised their price objective 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. Wells Fargo & Company set a $102.00 price objective on shares of Charles Schwab and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Charles Schwab from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Redburn Atlantic upgraded Charles Schwab from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $65.00 to $82.00 in a report on Monday, June 9th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on Charles Schwab from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Charles Schwab has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $99.35.

Insider Activity at Charles Schwab

In other news, Chairman Walter W. Bettinger sold 173,876 shares of Charles Schwab stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.84, for a total transaction of $17,185,903.84. Following the sale, the chairman directly owned 590,734 shares in the company, valued at $58,388,148.56. The trade was a 22.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Paula A. Sneed sold 8,647 shares of Charles Schwab stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.06, for a total value of $761,454.82. Following the sale, the director owned 105,654 shares in the company, valued at $9,303,891.24. The trade was a 7.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 304,726 shares of company stock worth $29,025,396. 6.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Charles Schwab Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SCHW opened at $95.57 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $91.28 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $83.73. The Charles Schwab Corporation has a 1-year low of $61.15 and a 1-year high of $99.59. The stock has a market cap of $173.65 billion, a PE ratio of 25.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.96.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $5.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.64 billion. Charles Schwab had a return on equity of 19.73% and a net margin of 33.68%. The business's revenue was up 24.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.73 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that The Charles Schwab Corporation will post 4.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Charles Schwab Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 8th. Charles Schwab's payout ratio is presently 29.03%.

Charles Schwab announced that its board has approved a share buyback program on Thursday, July 24th that allows the company to buyback $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to purchase up to 11.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's board of directors 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.