Bank of Nova Scotia Grows Stock Position in The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE:SCHW)

Key Points

• The Bank of Nova Scotia increased its stake in The Charles Schwab Corporation by 2.2%, bringing its total ownership to approximately $101.8 million in shares.
• Charles Schwab has seen favorable analyst ratings, with a majority rating it as a "buy" and price targets reaching as high as $113.00.
• The company recently declared a $0.27 quarterly dividend and announced a substantial $20 billion stock repurchase plan, indicating confidence in its stock valuation.

Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its stake in The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE:SCHW - Free Report) by 2.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,300,281 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 28,557 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia owned approximately 0.07% of Charles Schwab worth $101,786,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Charles Schwab in the fourth quarter worth about $1,455,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH increased its holdings in Charles Schwab by 6.2% during the 1st quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 1,181,563 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $92,493,000 after purchasing an additional 68,858 shares during the period. Graham Capital Management L.P. increased its holdings in Charles Schwab by 248.3% during the 4th quarter. Graham Capital Management L.P. now owns 112,376 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $8,317,000 after purchasing an additional 80,112 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors increased its holdings in Charles Schwab by 7.6% during the 1st quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 163,007 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $12,760,000 after purchasing an additional 11,505 shares during the period. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its holdings in Charles Schwab by 17.2% during the 1st quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 199,687 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $15,631,000 after purchasing an additional 29,255 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.38% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SCHW has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup boosted their price target on Charles Schwab from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. TD Securities boosted their price target on Charles Schwab from $95.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Charles Schwab from $92.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. JMP Securities boosted their price target on Charles Schwab from $106.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating and set a $99.00 price target on shares of Charles Schwab in a report on Friday, July 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $99.35.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Jonathan M. Craig sold 47,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.46, for a total value of $4,201,850.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Walter W. Bettinger sold 173,876 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.84, for a total value of $17,185,903.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman directly owned 590,734 shares in the company, valued at $58,388,148.56. This trade represents a 22.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 304,726 shares of company stock worth $29,025,396 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 6.30% of the company's stock.

Charles Schwab Stock Performance

Charles Schwab stock opened at $95.57 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The company has a market capitalization of $173.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.69, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.96. The stock's 50 day moving average is $91.28 and its 200 day moving average is $83.66. The Charles Schwab Corporation has a twelve month low of $61.15 and a twelve month high of $99.59.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $5.85 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.64 billion. Charles Schwab had a return on equity of 19.73% and a net margin of 33.68%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 24.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.73 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that The Charles Schwab Corporation will post 4.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Charles Schwab Announces Dividend

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

Charles Schwab declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, July 24th that allows the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to repurchase up to 11.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Charles Schwab 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.

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