HighTower Advisors LLC Has $29.44 Million Holdings in The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE:SCHW)

Key Points

• HighTower Advisors LLC reduced its stake in The Charles Schwab Corporation by 6.1%, now holding 376,081 shares valued at approximately $29.44 million.
• Charles Schwab announced a $20 billion share repurchase program, indicating the board's belief that the shares may be undervalued.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.27 per share, with a yield of 1.1% and a payout ratio of 29.03%.

HighTower Advisors LLC cut its stake in The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE:SCHW - Free Report) by 6.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 376,081 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 24,632 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC's holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $29,440,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of SCHW. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Charles Schwab by 1.6% during the first quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC now owns 7,986 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $625,000 after buying an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. HM Payson & Co. boosted its position in Charles Schwab by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 19,271 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,509,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Charles Schwab by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,551 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $513,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. Journey Strategic Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Charles Schwab by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. Journey Strategic Wealth LLC now owns 4,486 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $351,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Meridian Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Charles Schwab by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,192 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $485,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. 84.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Charles Schwab

In related news, Chairman Walter W. Bettinger sold 173,876 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.84, for a total transaction of $17,185,903.84. Following the transaction, the chairman owned 590,734 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $58,388,148.56. The trade was a 22.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Nigel J. Murtagh sold 24,096 shares of Charles Schwab stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at $5,776,592.09. This represents a 29.00% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 308,016 shares of company stock valued at $29,341,433 in the last three months. 6.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Charles Schwab Trading Down 1.8%

Shares of SCHW traded down $1.75 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $96.03. The stock had a trading volume of 9,535,466 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,194,136. The Charles Schwab Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $61.16 and a fifty-two week high of $99.59. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $93.09 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $84.91. The firm has a market cap of $174.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $5.85 billion during 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 19.30%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 24.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.73 earnings per share. As a group, equities 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 share 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 often an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Charles Schwab Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SCHW has been the subject of several research reports. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of Charles Schwab from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $65.00 to $82.00 in a report on Monday, June 9th. Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Charles Schwab in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. JMP Securities increased their price objective on shares of Charles Schwab from $106.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Charles Schwab from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Charles Schwab from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $100.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $99.60.

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.