Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ Raises Stock Position in The Charles Schwab Corporation $SCHW

Key Points

• Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB increased its stake in The Charles Schwab Corporation by 16.2%, owning a total of 621,171 shares valued at approximately $48.6 million after acquiring an additional 86,534 shares.
• Analysts have set varying price targets for Charles Schwab, with a consensus target price of $99.60 and a majority rating it as a "Moderate Buy".
• The company announced a $20 billion share buyback program, indicating its belief that the stock is undervalued, alongside a quarterly dividend of $0.27.

Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ raised its stake in shares of The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE:SCHW - Free Report) by 16.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 621,171 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 86,534 shares during the quarter. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ's holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $48,625,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in SCHW. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Charles Schwab by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC now owns 7,986 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $625,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. HM Payson & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Charles Schwab by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 19,271 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,509,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings 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 increased its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Meridian Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.38% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Charles Schwab

In other Charles Schwab news, insider Jonathan S. Beatty sold 6,144 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.81, for a total value of $594,800.64. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 11,923 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,154,265.63. The trade was a 34.01% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Walter W. Bettinger sold 173,876 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chairman owned 590,734 shares of the company's stock, 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. Insiders sold a total of 298,299 shares of company stock worth $29,005,931 in the last three months. 6.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Charles Schwab Price Performance

SCHW stock traded down $1.18 during trading on Friday, reaching $95.91. The company's stock had a trading volume of 8,829,399 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,885,997. The Charles Schwab Corporation has a 1 year low of $61.16 and a 1 year high of $99.59. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The company has a market capitalization of $174.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.96. The company's fifty day moving average is $94.58 and its 200-day moving average is $85.85.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $5.85 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 was up 24.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.73 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that The Charles Schwab Corporation will post 4.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Charles Schwab Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, August 8th were issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. 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 is presently 29.03%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on SCHW shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Charles Schwab from $117.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded Charles Schwab from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $65.00 to $82.00 in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Bank of America raised their price target on Charles Schwab from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $99.00 target price on shares of Charles Schwab in a report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Charles Schwab from $80.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Sixteen 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 company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Charles Schwab presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $99.60.

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.