Ethic Inc. Increases Holdings in The Charles Schwab Corporation $SCHW

Key Points

• Ethic Inc. increased its holdings in The Charles Schwab Corporation by 11.5%, owning 173,186 shares valued at approximately $15.58 million after acquiring additional shares in the second quarter.
• Insider trading saw the sale of over 267,128 shares totaling approximately $26.23 million in value over the last quarter, indicating significant insider activity.
• Charles Schwab is implementing a $20 billion stock repurchase plan and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.27 per share, reflecting confidence in its financial strength.

Ethic Inc. grew its holdings in The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE:SCHW - Free Report) by 11.5% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 173,186 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 17,797 shares during the quarter. Ethic Inc.'s holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $15,583,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Charles Schwab by 15.4% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 148,395,252 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $11,616,380,000 after buying an additional 19,817,022 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in Charles Schwab by 12.3% during the 1st 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 acquiring an additional 8,954,248 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in Charles Schwab by 10.8% in the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 17,440,301 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,365,227,000 after acquiring an additional 1,700,384 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Charles Schwab by 16.0% during the first quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 17,115,759 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,339,822,000 after purchasing an additional 2,355,309 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Charles Schwab by 5.0% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 15,586,450 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,220,107,000 after purchasing an additional 743,906 shares in the last quarter. 84.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Jonathan S. Beatty sold 6,144 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.81, for a total value of $594,800.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 11,923 shares in the company, valued at $1,154,265.63. This trade represents a 34.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through 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 shares were sold at an average price of $98.84, for a total value of $17,185,903.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman owned 590,734 shares in the company, valued at $58,388,148.56. This represents a 22.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 267,128 shares of company stock worth $26,232,077. 6.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Charles Schwab Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of SCHW stock opened at $95.40 on Wednesday. The Charles Schwab Corporation has a 1-year low of $65.88 and a 1-year high of $99.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The business's fifty day moving average price is $94.55 and its 200 day moving average price is $89.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $173.17 billion, a PE ratio of 22.30, a P/E/G ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.97.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.06. Charles Schwab had a net margin of 35.93% and a return on equity of 21.26%. The business had revenue of $6.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.93 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.71 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 26.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that The Charles Schwab Corporation will post 4.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Charles Schwab Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 8th were paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 8th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Charles Schwab's payout ratio is 25.29%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SCHW has been the subject of a number of research reports. Zacks Research cut Charles Schwab from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Charles Schwab in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. JMP Securities reiterated a "market outperform" rating and set a $110.00 target price on shares of Charles Schwab in a research note on Friday, October 17th. Barclays boosted their price target on Charles Schwab from $114.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, October 17th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $99.00 target price on shares of Charles Schwab in a research note on Friday, July 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $106.00.

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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