Nuveen LLC Buys New Shares in The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE:SCHW)

Key Points

• Nuveen LLC has acquired a new position in The Charles Schwab Corporation, purchasing approximately 5.6 million shares valued at about $440.7 million.
• The company initiated a $20 billion stock repurchase plan, indicating a belief that its shares are undervalued.
• Charles Schwab reported a strong earnings quarter, with $1.14 earnings per share, surpassing estimates and showing a year-over-year revenue increase of 24.8%.

Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE:SCHW - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 5,629,779 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $440,699,000. Nuveen LLC owned approximately 0.31% of Charles Schwab at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Charles Schwab in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,455,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH increased its stake in Charles Schwab by 6.2% in the 1st quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 1,181,563 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $92,493,000 after purchasing an additional 68,858 shares in the last quarter. Graham Capital Management L.P. increased its stake in Charles Schwab by 248.3% in the 4th quarter. Graham Capital Management L.P. now owns 112,376 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $8,317,000 after purchasing an additional 80,112 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors increased its stake in Charles Schwab by 7.6% in the 1st quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 163,007 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $12,760,000 after purchasing an additional 11,505 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its stake in Charles Schwab by 17.2% in the 1st quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 199,687 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $15,631,000 after purchasing an additional 29,255 shares in the last quarter. 84.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SCHW has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Charles Schwab from $102.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective 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 objective for the stock from $65.00 to $82.00 in a report on Monday, June 9th. Barclays raised 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. Finally, William Blair cut Charles Schwab from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. 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 currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $99.35.

Insider Activity at Charles Schwab

In other Charles Schwab news, Director Paula A. Sneed sold 8,647 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.06, for a total transaction of $761,454.82. Following the sale, the director directly owned 105,654 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,303,891.24. The trade was a 7.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Nigel J. Murtagh sold 24,096 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.91, for a total transaction of $2,359,239.36. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 58,999 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,776,592.09. This trade represents a 29.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 308,016 shares of company stock worth $29,341,433. Insiders own 6.30% of the company's stock.

Charles Schwab Stock Performance

SCHW stock traded down $3.06 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $95.63. The company had a trading volume of 12,455,199 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,176,303. 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 stock has a 50 day moving average price of $92.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $84.61. The Charles Schwab Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $61.16 and a fifty-two week high of $99.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $173.59 billion, a PE ratio of 25.71, a P/E/G ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.96.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.04. Charles Schwab had a return on equity of 19.30% and a net margin of 33.68%. The business had revenue of $5.85 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.64 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.73 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 24.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that The Charles Schwab Corporation will post 4.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Charles Schwab Announces Dividend

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

Charles Schwab announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, July 24th that allows the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to repurchase up to 11.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.