Baxter Bros Inc. Purchases 18,510 Shares of The Charles Schwab Corporation $SCHW

Key Points

• Baxter Bros Inc. increased its holdings in The Charles Schwab Corporation by 22.4% during the 2nd quarter, now owning a total of 101,004 shares valued at approximately $9.2 million.
• Insider Jonathan S. Beatty sold 6,144 shares of Schwab stock, representing a 34.01% decrease in his holdings, while Chairman Walter W. Bettinger sold 173,876 shares, decreasing his position by 22.74%.
• The Charles Schwab Corporation has authorized a $20 billion share buyback plan, allowing the company to repurchase up to 11.6% of its shares in the market, indicating leadership's belief that the shares are undervalued.

Baxter Bros Inc. grew its position in shares of The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE:SCHW - Free Report) by 22.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 101,004 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 18,510 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab makes up about 1.1% of Baxter Bros Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest position. Baxter Bros Inc.'s holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $9,216,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bain Capital Public Equity Management II LLC purchased a new stake in Charles Schwab during the 1st quarter valued at about $79,605,000. Independent Advisor Alliance boosted its holdings in Charles Schwab by 13.8% during the 1st quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 39,103 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,061,000 after acquiring an additional 4,754 shares during the period. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH boosted 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 acquiring an additional 68,858 shares during the period. PFG Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Charles Schwab by 10.2% during the 2nd quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 5,951 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $543,000 after acquiring an additional 550 shares during the period. Finally, United Services Automobile Association boosted its holdings in Charles Schwab by 14.1% during the 1st quarter. United Services Automobile Association now owns 39,512 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,074,000 after acquiring an additional 4,869 shares during the period. 84.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Charles Schwab

In other news, insider Jonathan S. Beatty sold 6,144 shares of the 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,154,265.63. This represents a 34.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Walter W. Bettinger sold 173,876 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at $58,388,148.56. This represents a 22.74% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 267,128 shares of company stock worth $26,232,077. 6.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Charles Schwab Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:SCHW opened at $93.82 on Thursday. The Charles Schwab Corporation has a 52-week low of $64.97 and a 52-week high of $99.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $170.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.22, a P/E/G ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.97. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $95.11 and a 200-day moving average price of $88.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.55.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $5.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.64 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.73 EPS. The business's revenue was up 24.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that The Charles Schwab Corporation will post 4.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Charles Schwab declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Thursday, July 24th that authorizes the company to buyback $20.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to reacquire up to 11.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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 given a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 8th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Charles Schwab's dividend payout ratio is currently 29.03%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America increased their target price on Charles Schwab from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a report on Thursday, October 2nd. Citigroup increased their target price on Charles Schwab from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. JMP Securities increased their price objective on Charles Schwab from $106.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Charles Schwab from $102.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Zacks Research cut Charles Schwab from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $100.57.

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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