Costello Asset Management INC Buys 12,279 Shares of The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE:SCHW)

Key Points

• Costello Asset Management INC increased its stake in The Charles Schwab Corporation by 2,822.8% during the first quarter, bringing its total holdings to 12,714 shares worth approximately $995,000.
• Insiders have sold a total of 304,726 shares of Charles Schwab stock, worth about $29 million, in the last three months, while 6.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.
• Charles Schwab announced a quarterly dividend of $0.27 per share, along with a stock repurchase plan to buy back up to $20 billion in shares, indicating confidence in the company's valuation.

Costello Asset Management INC lifted its stake in shares of The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE:SCHW - Free Report) by 2,822.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,714 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 12,279 shares during the period. Costello Asset Management INC's holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $995,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of SCHW. Atwood & Palmer Inc. acquired a new position in Charles Schwab during the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Charles Schwab by 75.0% during the 1st quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 350 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp bought a new stake in shares of Charles Schwab during the 1st quarter worth about $33,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC lifted its position in Charles Schwab by 90.5% during the first quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 463 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Beacon Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Charles Schwab by 53.1% during the first quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 487 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 169 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.38% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SCHW has been the subject of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Charles Schwab from $92.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Charles Schwab from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their price target for the company from $65.00 to $82.00 in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Charles Schwab from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Piper Sandler raised their price target on Charles Schwab from $80.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Charles Schwab from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $99.35.

Charles Schwab Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of NYSE SCHW traded down $0.81 during trading on Thursday, hitting $95.91. 7,260,222 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,161,237. The Charles Schwab Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $61.16 and a fifty-two week high of $99.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $174.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.78, a P/E/G ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.96. The business's fifty day moving average is $91.98 and its 200 day moving average is $84.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.53.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $5.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.64 billion. Charles Schwab had a return on equity of 19.73% and a net margin of 33.68%. Charles Schwab's quarterly revenue was up 24.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.73 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that The Charles Schwab Corporation will post 4.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Charles Schwab Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 22nd. Investors 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 yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 8th. Charles Schwab's payout ratio is presently 29.03%.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Charles Schwab

In related news, insider Nigel J. Murtagh sold 24,096 shares of the 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 sale, the insider directly owned 58,999 shares in the company, valued at $5,776,592.09. This represents a 29.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Chairman Walter W. Bettinger sold 173,876 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.84, for a total transaction of $17,185,903.84. Following the sale, the chairman directly owned 590,734 shares of the company's stock, valued at $58,388,148.56. The trade was a 22.74% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 308,016 shares of company stock valued at $29,341,433 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 6.30% of the company's stock.

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.