Clough Capital Partners L P Has $3.18 Million Stake in The Charles Schwab Corporation $SCHW

Key Points

• Clough Capital Partners L P reduced its stake in The Charles Schwab Corporation by 58.9%, holding 40,600 shares worth approximately $3.18 million at the end of the first quarter.
• Insider trades included Walter W. Bettinger selling 173,876 shares for over $17 million, indicating a significant reduction in his ownership.
• Charles Schwab has announced a $20 billion share buyback program, allowing the company to repurchase up to 11.6% of its shares, which reflects confidence in its stock valuation.

Clough Capital Partners L P reduced its position in shares of The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE:SCHW - Free Report) by 58.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 40,600 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 58,090 shares during the period. Clough Capital Partners L P's holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $3,178,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC acquired a new position in Charles Schwab during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,455,000. Independent Advisor Alliance lifted its position in shares of Charles Schwab by 13.8% in the first quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 39,103 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,061,000 after purchasing an additional 4,754 shares in the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH boosted its holdings in Charles Schwab by 6.2% during the first quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 1,181,563 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $92,493,000 after purchasing an additional 68,858 shares during the last quarter. Graham Capital Management L.P. grew its position in Charles Schwab by 248.3% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Finally, World Investment Advisors increased its stake in Charles Schwab by 7.6% in the 1st quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 163,007 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $12,760,000 after buying an additional 11,505 shares during the last quarter. 84.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Chairman Walter W. Bettinger sold 173,876 shares of Charles Schwab stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chairman directly owned 590,734 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $58,388,148.56. This trade represents a 22.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Nigel J. Murtagh sold 24,096 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.91, for a total value of $2,359,239.36. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 58,999 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,776,592.09. This trade represents a 29.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 238,843 shares of company stock worth $23,239,273 over the last three months. Insiders own 6.30% of the company's stock.

Charles Schwab Trading Up 0.3%

SCHW stock opened at $97.12 on Friday. The Charles Schwab Corporation has a one year low of $61.16 and a one year high of $99.59. The stock has a market cap of $176.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $94.45 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $85.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.55.

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 company had revenue of $5.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.64 billion. Charles Schwab had a net margin of 33.68% and a return on equity of 19.30%. The company's revenue was up 24.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.73 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that The Charles Schwab Corporation will post 4.22 EPS for the current year.

Charles Schwab announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, July 24th that permits the company to buyback $20.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire up to 11.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Charles Schwab Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SCHW has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Charles Schwab from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $99.00 price target on shares of Charles Schwab in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Charles Schwab from $117.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Charles Schwab from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their price target for the company from $65.00 to $82.00 in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Charles Schwab from $107.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Charles Schwab presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $99.60.

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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