Kestra Advisory Services LLC Has $12.22 Million Stake in The Charles Schwab Corporation $SCHW

Key Points

• Kestra Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in The Charles Schwab Corporation by 5,325 shares, raising its stake to a total of 156,118 shares valued at approximately $12.2 million.
• Multiple brokerages, including Citigroup and TD Securities, have raised their price targets for Charles Schwab, reflecting a positive outlook with an average target price of $99.60.
• Charles Schwab also announced a $20 billion stock buyback program as part of its strategy to repurchase up to 11.6% of its outstanding shares, signaling confidence in its stock valuation.

Kestra Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE:SCHW - Free Report) by 3.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 156,118 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 5,325 shares during the quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $12,221,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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

Charles Schwab Stock Performance

NYSE:SCHW traded up $1.11 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $97.30. The stock had a trading volume of 7,720,954 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,098,677. The Charles Schwab Corporation has a twelve month low of $61.16 and a twelve month high of $99.59. The stock has a market cap of $176.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.16, a PEG ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.96. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $94.16 and its 200 day simple moving average is $85.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.55.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.04. Charles Schwab had a net margin of 33.68% and a return on equity of 19.30%. The business had revenue of $5.85 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.64 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.73 EPS. Charles Schwab's revenue was up 24.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that The Charles Schwab Corporation will post 4.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Charles Schwab Dividend Announcement

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

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Barclays increased their target price on Charles Schwab from $106.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. William Blair cut Charles Schwab from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. JMP Securities raised their price objective on Charles Schwab from $106.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Charles Schwab in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic upgraded Charles Schwab from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $65.00 to $82.00 in a report on Monday, June 9th. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Charles Schwab currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $99.60.

Insider Activity

In other Charles Schwab news, insider Jonathan S. Beatty sold 2,850 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.57, for a total transaction of $249,574.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 15,219 shares in the company, valued at $1,332,727.83. This trade represents a 15.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Paul V. Woolway sold 3,290 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.06, for a total transaction of $316,037.40. Following the sale, the insider owned 41,188 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,956,519.28. This trade represents a 7.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 241,693 shares of company stock valued at $23,488,848. Company insiders own 6.30% of the company's stock.

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.