Convergence Investment Partners LLC Takes $1.61 Million Position in The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE:SCHW)

Convergence Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE:SCHW - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 20,614 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,614,000.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Atwood & Palmer Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Charles Schwab during the first quarter worth about $25,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Charles Schwab by 75.0% in the first quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 350 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp bought a new position in Charles Schwab in the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC grew its stake in Charles Schwab by 90.5% in the first quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 463 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new position in Charles Schwab in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Institutional investors own 84.38% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on SCHW shares. Citigroup lifted their target price on Charles Schwab from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Charles Schwab from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $100.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Barclays boosted their price target on Charles Schwab from $106.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. 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 research note on Monday. Finally, Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Charles Schwab in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $98.65.

Insider Transactions at Charles Schwab

In related news, insider Jonathan M. Craig sold 47,500 shares of Charles Schwab stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.46, for a total transaction of $4,201,850.00. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Paul V. Woolway sold 10,129 shares of Charles Schwab stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.01, for a total value of $911,711.29. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 39,154 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,524,251.54. This represents a 20.55% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 116,313 shares of company stock valued at $10,264,091. 6.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Charles Schwab Stock Performance

NYSE:SCHW traded up $0.55 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $97.05. The stock had a trading volume of 9,042,989 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,276,403. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.53. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $90.17 and a 200 day simple moving average of $82.64. The Charles Schwab Corporation has a 12-month low of $61.15 and a 12-month high of $98.28. The stock has a market cap of $176.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.93.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.04. Charles Schwab had a return on equity of 19.73% 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 period last year, the company earned $0.73 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 24.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that The Charles Schwab Corporation will post 4.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Charles Schwab Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 8th will be issued a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 8th. Charles Schwab's payout ratio is currently 29.03%.

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

About Charles Schwab

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.