Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Buys 2,714,943 Shares of The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE:SCHW)

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE:SCHW - Free Report) by 38.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,818,279 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 2,714,943 shares during the quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. owned approximately 0.54% of Charles Schwab worth $768,575,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Atwood & Palmer Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Charles Schwab during the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Charles Schwab by 75.0% during the first quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 350 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp bought a new position in Charles Schwab in the 1st quarter worth about $33,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Charles Schwab by 90.5% in the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 463 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Beacon Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Charles Schwab by 53.1% in the 1st quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 487 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. 84.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on SCHW shares. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Charles Schwab from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $100.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Charles Schwab from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Charles Schwab from $117.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. JMP Securities increased their target price on Charles Schwab from $106.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating and set a $99.00 price target on shares of Charles Schwab in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Two 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. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $99.35.

Insider Activity

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 owned 58,999 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,776,592.09. The trade was a 29.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Paul V. Woolway sold 10,129 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 18th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $3,524,251.54. This trade represents a 20.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 308,016 shares of company stock valued at $29,341,433. 6.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Charles Schwab Price Performance

SCHW stock opened at $96.79 on Thursday. The Charles Schwab Corporation has a 1 year low of $61.16 and a 1 year high of $99.59. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $91.81 and a 200 day moving average of $84.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.53 and a quick ratio of 0.53. The company has a market cap of $175.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.02, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.96.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.04. Charles Schwab had a return on equity of 19.73% and a net margin of 33.68%. The business had revenue of $5.85 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.64 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.73 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 24.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that The Charles Schwab Corporation will post 4.22 EPS for the current year.

Charles Schwab Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 8th. Charles Schwab's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.03%.

Charles Schwab announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, July 24th that allows the company to buyback $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to repurchase up to 11.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.