Ieq Capital LLC Boosts Holdings in The Charles Schwab Corporation $SCHW

Key Points

• Ieq Capital LLC has increased its stake in The Charles Schwab Corporation by 101% in the first quarter, now owning 156,183 shares worth approximately $12.2 million.
• Multiple major investors have recently altered their stakes in Charles Schwab, with 84.38% of the stock now owned by hedge funds and institutional investors.
• The company announced a $20 billion stock buyback plan, indicating confidence in its valuation, and has consistently seen upward adjustments in target prices from various analysts.

Ieq Capital LLC increased its stake in The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE:SCHW - Free Report) by 101.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 156,183 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 78,498 shares during the period. Ieq Capital LLC's holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $12,226,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Atwood & Palmer Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Charles Schwab in the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. lifted 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 valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Charles Schwab during the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. WFA Asset Management Corp acquired a new position in shares of Charles Schwab during the first quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Cornerstone Planning Group LLC grew its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. 84.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on SCHW. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Charles Schwab from $106.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. JMP Securities increased their price objective on Charles Schwab from $106.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Charles Schwab from $102.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Bank of America raised their target price on Charles Schwab from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, TD Securities lifted their price target on Charles Schwab from $95.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $99.60.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, 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 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Chairman Walter W. Bettinger sold 173,876 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.84, for a total value of $17,185,903.84. Following the transaction, the chairman directly owned 590,734 shares in the company, valued at $58,388,148.56. This trade represents a 22.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 241,693 shares of company stock worth $23,488,848. Insiders own 6.30% of the company's stock.

Charles Schwab Stock Performance

SCHW opened at $96.92 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.55. The Charles Schwab Corporation has a 52-week low of $61.16 and a 52-week high of $99.59. The firm has a market cap of $175.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.96. The business's fifty day moving average is $94.30 and its 200-day moving average is $85.63.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.04. Charles Schwab had a return on equity of 19.30% and a net margin of 33.68%.The company 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 firm posted $0.73 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 24.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that The Charles Schwab Corporation will post 4.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Charles Schwab Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 8th were paid a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 8th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. Charles Schwab's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.03%.

Charles Schwab announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, July 24th that permits the company to buyback $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire up to 11.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Charles Schwab Company 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.

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