Conning Inc. Sells 3,821 Shares of The Charles Schwab Corporation $SCHW

Key Points

• Conning Inc. has reduced its holdings in The Charles Schwab Corporation by 6.9%, selling 3,821 shares, and now owns 51,826 shares valued at approximately $4.73 million.
• Several institutional investors have significantly increased their stakes in Charles Schwab, with Brighton Jones LLC raising its stake by 380.5% and other firms also boosting their investments.
• Charles Schwab recently reported Q2 earnings of $1.14 EPS, exceeding estimates, and revealed a $20 billion stock repurchase plan, indicating confidence in its valuation.

Conning Inc. lowered its holdings in The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE:SCHW - Free Report) by 6.9% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 51,826 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 3,821 shares during the quarter. Conning Inc.'s holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $4,729,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in SCHW. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in Charles Schwab by 380.5% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 24,240 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,794,000 after acquiring an additional 19,195 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its stake in Charles Schwab by 28.9% in the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 14,275 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,109,000 after acquiring an additional 3,199 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Charles Schwab by 28.2% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 27,122 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,123,000 after acquiring an additional 5,973 shares during the period. Simon Quick Advisors LLC increased its stake in Charles Schwab by 19.0% in the first quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 10,342 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $810,000 after acquiring an additional 1,654 shares during the period. Finally, Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Charles Schwab by 107.8% in the first quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. now owns 6,059 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $474,000 after acquiring an additional 3,143 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.38% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. JMP Securities increased their target price on shares of Charles Schwab from $106.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Charles Schwab from $102.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Charles Schwab to $130.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Barclays reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $114.00 target price on shares of Charles Schwab in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $99.00 target price on shares of Charles Schwab in a research report on Friday, July 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $100.57.

Charles Schwab Trading Down 2.1%

SCHW opened at $92.08 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $167.15 billion, a PE ratio of 24.75, a PEG ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.97. The Charles Schwab Corporation has a 1-year low of $65.88 and a 1-year high of $99.59. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $94.97 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $89.06.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW - Get Free Report) last posted 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 firm had revenue of $5.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.64 billion. Charles Schwab had a net margin of 33.68% and a return on equity of 19.30%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 24.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.73 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that The Charles Schwab Corporation will post 4.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Charles Schwab Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 8th were given a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 8th. Charles Schwab's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.03%.

Charles Schwab declared that its Board of Directors 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 buy up to 11.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Charles Schwab

In other news, insider Paul V. Woolway sold 3,205 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.33, for a total value of $299,122.65. Following the transaction, the insider owned 34,778 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,245,830.74. This trade represents a 8.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jonathan S. Beatty sold 6,144 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.81, for a total transaction of $594,800.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 11,923 shares in the company, valued at $1,154,265.63. This trade represents a 34.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 267,128 shares of company stock worth $26,232,077. Corporate insiders own 6.30% of the company's stock.

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.

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