First National Trust Co Buys Shares of 45,471 The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE:SCHW)

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 bought a new position in The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE:SCHW - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 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 bought and sold shares of the company. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Charles Schwab by 13.4% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 15,739,917 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,164,911,000 after purchasing an additional 1,864,286 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Charles Schwab by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 14,842,544 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,098,497,000 after purchasing an additional 430,250 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in shares of Charles Schwab by 27.5% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 11,653,684 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $862,489,000 after purchasing an additional 2,511,082 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in shares of Charles Schwab by 5.9% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 11,056,953 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $865,538,000 after buying an additional 618,101 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC raised its holdings in Charles Schwab by 354.5% in the 4th quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 11,005,881 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $814,545,000 after acquiring an additional 8,584,173 shares during the period. 84.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Charles Schwab Stock Performance

SCHW stock traded up $1.42 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $96.95. 3,849,967 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 10,157,638. The Charles Schwab Corporation has a 12 month low of $61.15 and a 12 month high of $99.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $176.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.06, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $91.28 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $83.79. The company has a current ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. Charles Schwab had a net margin of 33.68% and a return on equity of 19.73%. The business had revenue of $5.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.64 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.73 earnings per share. Charles Schwab's revenue was up 24.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that The Charles Schwab Corporation will post 4.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Charles Schwab Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 8th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Charles Schwab's dividend payout ratio is currently 29.03%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Nigel J. Murtagh sold 24,096 shares of Charles Schwab stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.91, for a total value of $2,359,239.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 58,999 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,776,592.09. This trade represents a 29.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Paul V. Woolway sold 10,129 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.01, for a total transaction of $911,711.29. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 39,154 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,524,251.54. This trade represents a 20.55% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 304,726 shares of company stock valued at $29,025,396 over the last three months. Insiders own 6.30% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on SCHW. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Charles Schwab from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Bank of America upped their price target on Charles Schwab from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $99.00 target price on shares of Charles Schwab in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Charles Schwab from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $65.00 to $82.00 in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Charles Schwab from $102.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average 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.