Mizuho Markets Americas LLC Has $29.10 Million Position in The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE:SCHW)

Key Points

• Mizuho Markets Americas LLC increased its holdings in The Charles Schwab Corporation by 81.8% during the 1st quarter, reaching a total value of $29.10 million.
• Charles Schwab announced a quarterly dividend of $0.27 per share, with a payout ratio of 29.03%, indicating the company’s commitment to returning value to shareholders.
• The company also initiated a $20 billion stock buyback program, suggesting management believes the stock is currently undervalued.

Mizuho Markets Americas LLC raised its holdings in The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE:SCHW - Free Report) by 81.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 371,694 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 167,198 shares during the period. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC's holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $29,096,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Charles Schwab by 15.4% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 148,395,252 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $11,616,380,000 after purchasing an additional 19,817,022 shares during the last quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA increased its stake in shares of Charles Schwab by 229.3% during the 1st quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 14,002,078 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,096,083,000 after purchasing an additional 9,749,728 shares during the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Charles Schwab by 354.5% during the 4th quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 11,005,881 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $814,545,000 after purchasing an additional 8,584,173 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP increased its stake in shares of Charles Schwab by 742.0% during the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 4,181,202 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $309,451,000 after purchasing an additional 3,684,640 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PointState Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of Charles Schwab during the 4th quarter worth about $237,280,000. 84.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Charles Schwab Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of SCHW opened at $97.05 on Friday. The Charles Schwab Corporation has a 12 month low of $61.16 and a 12 month high of $99.59. The firm's 50 day moving average is $92.15 and its 200-day moving average is $84.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $176.34 billion, a PE ratio of 26.09, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a current ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.04. Charles Schwab had a net margin of 33.68% and a return on equity of 19.73%. The company had revenue of $5.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.64 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.73 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 24.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that The Charles Schwab Corporation will post 4.22 EPS for the current year.

Charles Schwab Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 8th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Charles Schwab's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.03%.

Charles Schwab announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program 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 programs are often a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on SCHW. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Charles Schwab from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. William Blair lowered shares of Charles Schwab from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Charles Schwab from $80.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Charles Schwab from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Charles Schwab from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their price target for the company from $65.00 to $82.00 in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $99.35.

Insider Activity at Charles Schwab

In related news, Chairman Walter W. Bettinger sold 173,876 shares of the 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 sale, the chairman owned 590,734 shares in the company, valued at approximately $58,388,148.56. This trade represents a 22.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Paul V. Woolway sold 10,129 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.01, for a total transaction of $911,711.29. Following the sale, the insider owned 39,154 shares in the company, valued at $3,524,251.54. This represents a 20.55% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 308,016 shares of company stock valued at $29,341,433. 6.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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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