Intech Investment Management LLC Has $12.95 Million Stock Position in The Charles Schwab Corporation $SCHW

Key Points

• Intech Investment Management LLC increased its stock position in The Charles Schwab Corporation by 77.4% during the first quarter, now owning 165,408 shares valued at approximately $12.95 million.
• Major institutional investors, including Vanguard and Wellington Management, also significantly boosted their holdings in Charles Schwab, indicating strong institutional confidence in the company.
• Charles Schwab recently announced a stock repurchase program allowing for the repurchase of $20 billion in shares, signaling a belief by management that the stock is currently undervalued.

Intech Investment Management LLC grew its position in The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE:SCHW - Free Report) by 77.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 165,408 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 72,167 shares during the quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC's holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $12,948,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in SCHW. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Charles Schwab by 15.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 148,395,252 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $11,616,380,000 after buying an additional 19,817,022 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Charles Schwab by 595.7% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 15,488,777 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,212,461,000 after buying an additional 13,262,309 shares during the period. Primecap Management Co. CA boosted its holdings in shares of Charles Schwab by 229.3% in the first quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 14,002,078 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,096,083,000 after buying an additional 9,749,728 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in shares of Charles Schwab by 12.3% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 82,048,984 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $6,422,795,000 after buying an additional 8,954,248 shares during the period. Finally, Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Charles Schwab in the first quarter worth about $440,699,000. 84.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. William Blair cut shares of Charles Schwab from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Morgan Stanley raised their price target 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. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Charles Schwab from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Charles Schwab from $102.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Citigroup raised 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. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $99.60.

Charles Schwab Price Performance

Shares of SCHW opened at $92.23 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $167.43 billion, a PE ratio of 24.79, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.96. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $95.31 and its 200 day moving average price is $86.56. 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 twelve month low of $61.16 and a twelve month high of $99.59.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $5.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.64 billion. Charles Schwab had a net margin of 33.68% and a return on equity of 19.30%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 24.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.73 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that The Charles Schwab Corporation will post 4.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Charles Schwab Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 8th were given a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 8th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Charles Schwab's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.03%.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Paul V. Woolway sold 10,129 shares of Charles Schwab stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.01, for a total value of $911,711.29. Following the transaction, the insider owned 39,154 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,524,251.54. This trade represents a 20.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Walter W. Bettinger sold 173,876 shares of Charles Schwab stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chairman directly owned 590,734 shares in the company, valued at approximately $58,388,148.56. This represents a 22.74% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 298,214 shares of company stock valued at $29,022,580. 6.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.

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