Legal Advantage Investments Inc. Has $5.32 Million Stake in The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE:SCHW)

Key Points

• Legal Advantage Investments Inc. increased its stake in The Charles Schwab Corporation by 6.3% in Q1, bringing its holdings to approximately $5.32 million and making Schwab the firm's 9th largest position.
• Charles Schwab has received multiple rating upgrades from analysts, with targets as high as $113.00, reflecting a positive outlook and a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."
• The company announced a $20 billion share buyback plan, indicating confidence in their stock's valuation, and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.27 per share.

Legal Advantage Investments Inc. boosted its holdings in The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE:SCHW - Free Report) by 6.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 67,900 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 4,000 shares during the period. Charles Schwab makes up 2.9% of Legal Advantage Investments Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest position. Legal Advantage Investments Inc.'s holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $5,315,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in SCHW. Atwood & Palmer Inc. bought a new stake in Charles Schwab in the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Charles Schwab by 75.0% in the 1st quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 350 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Charles Schwab in the 1st quarter worth $31,000. WFA Asset Management Corp purchased a new stake in Charles Schwab in the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Cornerstone Planning Group LLC lifted its holdings in Charles Schwab by 90.5% in the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 463 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 220 shares during the period. 84.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SCHW has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Barclays increased their price objective on Charles Schwab from $106.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Charles Schwab from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $65.00 to $82.00 in a report on Monday, June 9th. JMP Securities upped their price objective on shares of Charles Schwab from $106.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $99.00 price objective on shares of Charles Schwab in a report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, William Blair lowered shares of Charles Schwab from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $99.35.

Insider Activity

In related news, Chairman Walter W. Bettinger sold 173,876 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 590,734 shares of the company's stock, valued at $58,388,148.56. This trade represents a 22.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Peter J. Morgan III sold 10,176 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.39, for a total transaction of $889,280.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 308,016 shares of company stock worth $29,341,433 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 6.30% of the company's stock.

Charles Schwab Trading Up 2.3%

Shares of NYSE:SCHW opened at $97.80 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $177.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.29, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.55. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $92.93 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $84.79. The Charles Schwab Corporation has a 52-week low of $61.16 and a 52-week high of $99.59.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW - Get Free Report) last announced 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.64 billion. Charles Schwab had a return on equity of 19.30% and a net margin of 33.68%. The business's revenue was up 24.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.73 earnings per share. Analysts expect 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. Investors of record on Friday, August 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 8th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Charles Schwab's payout ratio is currently 29.03%.

Charles Schwab declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Thursday, July 24th that authorizes the company to buyback $20.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 11.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company's board believes its stock is 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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