Forsta AP Fonden Grows Stock Holdings in The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE:SCHW)

Key Points

• Forsta AP Fonden increased its stake in The Charles Schwab Corporation by 6.8%, acquiring an additional 24,700 shares, bringing its total holdings to 389,701 shares valued at approximately $30.5 million.
• Significant enhancements in ownership were noted among other institutional investors, including Brighton Jones LLC's 380.5% increase and Martingale Asset Management's astonishing 987.6% growth in holdings during the fourth quarter.
• The company announced a $20 billion share repurchase program, indicating confidence in its value, while recently declaring a quarterly dividend of $0.27 per share scheduled for August 22nd.

Forsta AP Fonden lifted its stake in shares of The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE:SCHW - Free Report) by 6.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 389,701 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 24,700 shares during the quarter. Forsta AP Fonden's holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $30,506,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of SCHW. Atwood & Palmer Inc. acquired a new position in Charles Schwab during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. increased 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 valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp bought a new position in Charles Schwab during the 1st quarter worth $33,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC grew its stake in Charles Schwab by 90.5% during the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 463 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Beacon Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Charles Schwab by 53.1% in the first quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 487 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.38% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Charles Schwab news, Director Paula A. Sneed sold 8,647 shares of Charles Schwab stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.06, for a total value of $761,454.82. Following the sale, the director directly owned 105,654 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,303,891.24. The trade was a 7.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Jonathan S. Beatty sold 2,850 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.57, for a total transaction of $249,574.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 15,219 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,332,727.83. This trade represents a 15.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 308,016 shares of company stock worth $29,341,433 in the last 90 days. 6.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Charles Schwab Stock Performance

SCHW stock traded up $1.06 on Friday, hitting $97.05. The company had a trading volume of 5,031,212 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,189,867. The Charles Schwab Corporation has a 12-month low of $61.16 and a 12-month high of $99.59. The company has a current ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $92.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $84.38. The stock has a market cap of $176.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.09, a P/E/G ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.96.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW - Get Free Report) last issued 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 business had revenue of $5.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.73 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that The Charles Schwab Corporation will post 4.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase up to 11.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Charles Schwab Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SCHW has been the subject of several analyst reports. Barclays upped their target price on Charles Schwab from $106.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Redburn Atlantic raised Charles Schwab from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their target price for the company from $65.00 to $82.00 in a report on Monday, June 9th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Charles Schwab from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Charles Schwab from $117.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Charles Schwab from $100.00 to $107.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Charles Schwab presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price 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.