45,471 Shares in The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE:SCHW) Purchased by First National Trust Co

Key Points

• First National Trust Co acquired 45,471 shares of The Charles Schwab Corporation for about $3.56 million in the first quarter.
• Charles Schwab recently announced a $20 billion stock buyback program, which represents a potential reacquisition of up to 11.6% of its outstanding shares.
• The company reported $1.14 earnings per share, exceeding analysts' expectations by $0.04, and showed a 24.8% year-over-year revenue increase.

First National Trust Co acquired a new position in The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE:SCHW - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 45,471 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $3,559,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vestcor Inc boosted its holdings in Charles Schwab by 12.7% during the first quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 33,160 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,596,000 after buying an additional 3,728 shares in the last quarter. Capricorn Fund Managers Ltd boosted its holdings in Charles Schwab by 21.2% during the first quarter. Capricorn Fund Managers Ltd now owns 12,925 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,012,000 after buying an additional 2,260 shares in the last quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd boosted its holdings in Charles Schwab by 19.6% during the first quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 6,702 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $525,000 after buying an additional 1,096 shares in the last quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise purchased a new stake in Charles Schwab during the first quarter worth $1,576,000. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its holdings in Charles Schwab by 6.7% during the first quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 8,216 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $643,000 after buying an additional 519 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.38% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Charles Schwab

In related news, insider Jonathan M. Craig sold 47,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.46, for a total transaction of $4,201,850.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Nigel J. Murtagh sold 24,096 shares of the firm'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 sale, the insider owned 58,999 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,776,592.09. The trade was a 29.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 304,726 shares of company stock valued at $29,025,396. Company insiders own 6.30% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $99.00 price target on shares of Charles Schwab in a report on Friday, July 18th. 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 report on Monday, July 21st. William Blair downgraded shares of Charles Schwab from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Charles Schwab in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $102.00 price objective on shares of Charles Schwab and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $99.35.

Charles Schwab Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SCHW traded down $2.16 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $95.57. The company's stock had a trading volume of 9,790,479 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,649,078. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $91.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $83.66. 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 company has a market cap of $173.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.96. The Charles Schwab Corporation has a 12-month low of $61.15 and a 12-month high of $99.59.

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 for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $5.85 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter was up 24.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.73 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that The Charles Schwab Corporation will post 4.22 EPS for the current year.

Charles Schwab announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, July 24th that permits the company to buyback $20.00 billion in 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 typically an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Charles Schwab Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 of this dividend is Friday, August 8th. Charles Schwab's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.03%.

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.