iA Global Asset Management Inc. Has $4.52 Million Position in The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE:SCHW)

Key Points

• iA Global Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in The Charles Schwab Corporation by 317.6% in the 1st quarter, owning a total of 57,685 shares worth $4,516,000 as of the latest SEC filing.
• Multiple institutional investors significantly boosted their positions in Charles Schwab, with Brighton Jones LLC increasing their stake by 380.5% in the fourth quarter.
• Charles Schwab announced a $20 billion stock repurchase plan and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.27 per share, reflecting confidence in the company's valuation.

iA Global Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE:SCHW - Free Report) by 317.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 57,685 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 43,873 shares during the quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $4,516,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Atwood & Palmer Inc. bought a new position in shares of Charles Schwab during the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Charles Schwab by 75.0% in the first quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 350 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $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 first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Charles Schwab by 90.5% in the first quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 463 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 220 shares during the period. Finally, Beacon Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Charles Schwab by 53.1% during the first quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 487 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. 84.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on SCHW. Wells Fargo & Company set a $102.00 price target on shares of Charles Schwab and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. 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 report on Monday, July 21st. Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Charles Schwab in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Charles Schwab from $92.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Charles Schwab from $80.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Charles Schwab currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $99.35.

Charles Schwab Price Performance

Shares of SCHW stock traded down $0.81 on Thursday, hitting $95.91. 7,260,222 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,161,237. The company has a 50 day moving average of $91.98 and a 200 day moving average of $84.24. The stock has a market cap of $174.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.96. 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 Charles Schwab Corporation has a 12 month low of $61.16 and a 12 month high of $99.59.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW - Get Free Report) last released 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. The business 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 19.73%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 24.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.73 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that The Charles Schwab Corporation will post 4.22 EPS for the current year.

Charles Schwab Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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 payout ratio is 29.03%.

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

Insider Activity at Charles Schwab

In related news, Director Paula A. Sneed sold 8,647 shares of the business's 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 owned 105,654 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,303,891.24. The trade was a 7.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Jonathan S. Beatty sold 2,850 shares of Charles Schwab stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.57, for a total value of $249,574.50. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 15,219 shares in the company, valued at $1,332,727.83. The trade was a 15.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 308,016 shares of company stock valued at $29,341,433. Corporate insiders own 6.30% of the company's stock.

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.