Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. Makes New $930,000 Investment in The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE:SCHW)

Key Points

• Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. invested $930,000 in The Charles Schwab Corporation by acquiring 11,879 shares during the first quarter.
• Analysts have raised their price targets for Charles Schwab, with targets ranging from $95 to $113, reflecting a generally positive outlook with an average rating of "Moderate Buy."
• Charles Schwab announced a quarterly dividend of $0.27 per share and a stock buyback program authorizing $20 billion to purchase up to 11.6% of its shares, indicating confidence in its stock value.

Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. acquired a new position in shares of The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE:SCHW - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 11,879 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $930,000.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of SCHW. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in shares of Charles Schwab by 380.5% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 24,240 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,794,000 after purchasing an additional 19,195 shares during the last quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Charles Schwab in the 4th quarter valued at $411,000. Gabelli Funds LLC lifted its stake in shares of Charles Schwab by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 61,237 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,532,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Charles Schwab by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 97,764 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $7,235,000 after purchasing an additional 5,067 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Commonwealth Financial Corp PA lifted its stake in shares of Charles Schwab by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. First Commonwealth Financial Corp PA now owns 12,978 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $961,000 after purchasing an additional 519 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.38% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Charles Schwab from $92.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. JMP Securities upped 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, July 21st. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Charles Schwab from $100.00 to $107.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Charles Schwab from $80.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, TD Securities boosted their price objective on Charles Schwab from $95.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Charles Schwab currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $99.35.

Insider Buying and Selling at Charles Schwab

In other news, insider Nigel J. Murtagh sold 24,096 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.91, for a total transaction of $2,359,239.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 58,999 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,776,592.09. This represents a 29.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, General Counsel Peter J. Morgan III sold 10,176 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.39, for a total value of $889,280.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 308,016 shares of company stock worth $29,341,433. Corporate insiders own 6.30% of the company's stock.

Charles Schwab Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SCHW opened at $97.80 on Friday. The stock's 50-day moving average is $92.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $84.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.53. The Charles Schwab Corporation has a 1-year low of $61.16 and a 1-year high of $99.59. The company has a market cap of $177.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.96.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW - Get Free Report) last issued 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. Charles Schwab had a return on equity of 19.30% and a net margin of 33.68%. The company had revenue of $5.85 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.64 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.73 EPS. Charles Schwab's revenue was up 24.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that The Charles Schwab Corporation will post 4.22 EPS 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 8th will be given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 8th. Charles Schwab's dividend payout ratio is currently 29.03%.

Charles Schwab declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, July 24th that allows the company to buyback $20.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to purchase up to 11.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company's board 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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