Epoch Investment Partners Inc. Acquires New Stake in The Charles Schwab Corporation $SCHW

Key Points

• Epoch Investment Partners Inc. has acquired a new stake in The Charles Schwab Corporation, purchasing 300,474 shares valued at approximately $23.5 million.
• Charles Schwab's quarterly earnings were reported at $1.14 EPS, beating analyst estimates and reflecting a 24.8% year-over-year revenue increase.
• The company has received multiple upgrades from analysts, with a current average price target of $99.60 and most analysts rating it a "Moderate Buy."

Epoch Investment Partners Inc. purchased a new position in The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE:SCHW - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 300,474 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $23,521,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of SCHW. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Charles Schwab by 15.4% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 148,395,252 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $11,616,380,000 after purchasing an additional 19,817,022 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Charles Schwab by 595.7% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 15,488,777 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,212,461,000 after acquiring an additional 13,262,309 shares in the last quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA lifted its position in shares of Charles Schwab by 229.3% in the first quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 14,002,078 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,096,083,000 after buying an additional 9,749,728 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in shares of Charles Schwab by 12.3% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 82,048,984 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $6,422,795,000 after buying an additional 8,954,248 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Charles Schwab in the first quarter worth about $440,699,000. 84.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Charles Schwab Trading Up 1.2%

SCHW opened at $97.30 on Wednesday. The Charles Schwab Corporation has a one year low of $61.16 and a one year high of $99.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $176.62 billion, a PE ratio of 26.16, a P/E/G ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.96. The business's 50 day moving average price is $94.16 and its 200 day moving average price is $85.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.55.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.04. Charles Schwab had a return on equity of 19.30% and a net margin of 33.68%.The firm had revenue of $5.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.64 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.73 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 24.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that The Charles Schwab Corporation will post 4.22 EPS for the current year.

Charles Schwab declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, July 24th that permits the company to buyback $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase up to 11.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Charles Schwab Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, August 8th were issued a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 8th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. Charles Schwab's dividend payout ratio is currently 29.03%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Charles Schwab news, insider Jonathan S. Beatty sold 2,850 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.57, for a total transaction of $249,574.50. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 15,219 shares in the company, valued at $1,332,727.83. This represents a 15.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction 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 the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.84, for a total value of $17,185,903.84. Following the transaction, the chairman owned 590,734 shares in the company, valued at $58,388,148.56. This trade represents a 22.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 241,693 shares of company stock valued at $23,488,848. Insiders own 6.30% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SCHW has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Charles Schwab from $102.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Bank of America lifted their price target on Charles Schwab from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Charles Schwab from $107.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Charles Schwab in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, TD Securities lifted their price objective on Charles Schwab from $95.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $99.60.

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.

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