The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE:SCHW) Holdings Lowered by Morton Community Bank

Key Points

• Morton Community Bank has reduced its stake in The Charles Schwab Corporation by 41.9%, now owning 3,733 shares valued at $292,000 after selling 2,690 shares in Q1.
• Several institutional investors significantly increased their holdings in Charles Schwab during the fourth quarter, with Brighton Jones LLC growing its stake by 380.5%.
• Charles Schwab recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.27 per share, along with a $20 billion stock repurchase plan indicating management's belief in the stock’s value.

Morton Community Bank lowered its holdings in The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE:SCHW - Free Report) by 41.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,733 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 2,690 shares during the period. Morton Community Bank's holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $292,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in SCHW. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in 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 valued at $11,616,380,000 after purchasing an additional 19,817,022 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in Charles Schwab by 13.4% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 15,739,917 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,164,911,000 after purchasing an additional 1,864,286 shares in the last quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA grew its holdings in 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 valued at $1,096,083,000 after purchasing an additional 9,749,728 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in Charles Schwab by 27.5% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 11,653,684 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $862,489,000 after purchasing an additional 2,511,082 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in Charles Schwab by 5.9% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 11,056,953 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $865,538,000 after purchasing an additional 618,101 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.38% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Jonathan S. Beatty sold 2,850 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.57, for a total value of $249,574.50. Following the sale, the insider owned 15,219 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,332,727.83. This trade represents a 15.77% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Walter W. Bettinger sold 173,876 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was 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 directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 308,016 shares of company stock worth $29,341,433. 6.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on SCHW shares. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Charles Schwab from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $99.00 price objective on shares of Charles Schwab in a research note on Friday, July 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Charles Schwab from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $100.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Charles Schwab in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Charles Schwab from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $99.35.

Charles Schwab Stock Performance

Shares of Charles Schwab stock traded up $1.06 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $97.05. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,031,212 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,189,867. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.53. The Charles Schwab Corporation has a one year low of $61.16 and a one year high of $99.59. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $92.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $84.38. The stock has a market cap of $176.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.96.

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

Charles Schwab announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, July 24th that authorizes the company to buyback $20.00 billion in outstanding 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 often a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Charles Schwab Announces Dividend

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

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.