Empower Advisory Group LLC Sells 5,029 Shares of The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE:SCHW)

Key Points

• Empower Advisory Group LLC reduced its holdings in The Charles Schwab Corporation by 2.9%, now owning 166,298 shares valued at approximately $13.02 million.
• Charles Schwab's board has authorized a $20 billion stock buyback plan, signifying the company's belief that its stock is undervalued.
• The company reported earnings per share of $1.14 for the last quarter, exceeding analyst expectations of $1.10, with a net margin of 33.68% and revenue of $5.85 billion.

Empower Advisory Group LLC lessened its position in shares of The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE:SCHW - Free Report) by 2.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 166,298 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 5,029 shares during the quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC's holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $13,018,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Atwood & Palmer Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Charles Schwab in the first quarter worth about $25,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Charles Schwab by 75.0% in the 1st quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 350 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp acquired a new position in Charles Schwab during the 1st quarter worth about $33,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 during the period. Finally, Beacon Capital Management LLC grew its position 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 buying an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. 84.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Charles Schwab

In related news, insider Nigel J. Murtagh sold 24,096 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.91, for a total transaction of $2,359,239.36. Following the transaction, the insider owned 58,999 shares in the company, valued at $5,776,592.09. This represents a 29.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Chairman Walter W. Bettinger sold 173,876 shares of Charles Schwab stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chairman owned 590,734 shares in the company, valued at $58,388,148.56. This represents a 22.74% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 308,016 shares of company stock valued at $29,341,433. 6.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Charles Schwab Stock Performance

Charles Schwab stock traded down $0.81 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $95.91. The company's stock had a trading volume of 7,260,222 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,161,237. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $91.98 and its two-hundred day moving average price 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. The Charles Schwab Corporation has a 12-month low of $61.16 and a 12-month high of $99.59. The company has a market capitalization of $174.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.78, a PEG ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.96.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $5.85 billion during 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 19.73%. The company's revenue was up 24.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.73 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that The Charles Schwab Corporation will post 4.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Charles Schwab declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, July 24th that allows the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to repurchase up to 11.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Charles Schwab Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 8th will be paid a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 8th. Charles Schwab's dividend payout ratio is currently 29.03%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Truist Financial increased 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. JMP Securities raised their price target on shares of Charles Schwab from $106.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Charles Schwab from $102.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Charles Schwab from $92.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Charles Schwab from $80.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Two equities 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's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $99.35.

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.