National Pension Service Increases Stake in The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE:SCHW)

Key Points

• The National Pension Service increased its holdings in The Charles Schwab Corporation by 11.9% in Q1, owning a total of 3,147,416 shares valued at approximately $246.38 million.
• Charles Schwab announced a new stock buyback program worth $20 billion, allowing it to repurchase up to 11.6% of its shares, indicating confidence in its stock valuation.
• The company reported earnings of $1.14 per share, surpassing analysts’ expectations, with revenues of $5.85 billion, marking a 24.8% increase year-over-year.

National Pension Service lifted its stake in shares of The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE:SCHW - Free Report) by 11.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,147,416 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 335,115 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service owned about 0.17% of Charles Schwab worth $246,380,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Klingman & Associates LLC grew its position in shares of Charles Schwab by 41.7% during the 1st quarter. Klingman & Associates LLC now owns 5,787 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $453,000 after buying an additional 1,704 shares during the period. GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Charles Schwab during the 1st quarter worth approximately $121,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its position in shares of Charles Schwab by 73.4% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,628,057 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $127,381,000 after buying an additional 689,222 shares during the period. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Charles Schwab by 16.5% during the 1st quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 556,333 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $43,508,000 after buying an additional 78,665 shares during the period. Finally, Westpac Banking Corp grew its position in shares of Charles Schwab by 76.1% during the 1st quarter. Westpac Banking Corp now owns 110,999 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $8,689,000 after buying an additional 47,981 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.38% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on SCHW shares. 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. Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Charles Schwab in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Charles Schwab from $92.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Charles Schwab from $80.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on Charles Schwab from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Charles Schwab presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $99.35.

Insider Activity at Charles Schwab

In other news, insider Paul V. Woolway sold 3,290 shares of Charles Schwab stock in a transaction 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 directly owned 41,188 shares in the company, valued at $3,956,519.28. The trade was a 7.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Paula A. Sneed sold 8,647 shares of Charles Schwab stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.06, for a total value of $761,454.82. Following the sale, the director owned 105,654 shares in the company, valued at $9,303,891.24. The trade was a 7.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 308,016 shares of company stock worth $29,341,433. 6.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Charles Schwab Stock Up 2.3%

NYSE:SCHW traded up $2.21 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $97.80. 11,310,032 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,257,840. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $92.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $84.79. The Charles Schwab Corporation has a one year low of $61.16 and a one year high of $99.59. The company has a market cap of $177.53 billion, a PE ratio of 26.29, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.96.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $5.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 for the quarter was up 24.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.73 EPS. Equities analysts predict that The Charles Schwab Corporation will post 4.22 earnings per share 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 paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 8th. Charles Schwab's payout ratio is presently 29.03%.

Charles Schwab announced that its board has approved a share buyback program on Thursday, July 24th that allows the company to buyback $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to purchase up to 11.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's board of directors 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.