Petrus Trust Company LTA Has $223,000 Position in The Charles Schwab Corporation $SCHW

Key Points

• Petrus Trust Company LTA has reduced its holdings in The Charles Schwab Corporation by 53.3%, selling 3,256 shares and now owning 2,850 shares worth $223,000.
• Charles Schwab reported earnings of $1.14 per share for the last quarter, exceeding analyst estimates, with a revenue increase of 24.8% year-over-year.
• The company announced a $20 billion share repurchase program, allowing it to buy back up to 11.6% of its shares, indicating management's belief that the stock is undervalued.

Petrus Trust Company LTA trimmed its stake in shares of The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE:SCHW - Free Report) by 53.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,850 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 3,256 shares during the period. Petrus Trust Company LTA's holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $223,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Charles Schwab by 1.6% during the first quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC now owns 7,986 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $625,000 after acquiring an additional 129 shares during the period. HM Payson & Co. grew its position in Charles Schwab by 0.7% in the first quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 19,271 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,509,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Charles Schwab by 2.1% in the first quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,551 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $513,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. Journey Strategic Wealth LLC grew its position in Charles Schwab by 3.1% in the first quarter. Journey Strategic Wealth LLC now owns 4,486 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $351,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Meridian Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Charles Schwab by 2.2% in the first quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,192 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $485,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. 84.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on SCHW. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $99.00 price objective on shares of Charles Schwab in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Charles Schwab from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Charles Schwab from $106.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Charles Schwab from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, TD Securities lifted their target price on shares of Charles Schwab from $95.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $99.60.

Charles Schwab Stock Performance

Shares of SCHW stock traded down $0.44 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $93.50. 7,701,819 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,512,390. The firm has a market capitalization of $169.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.13, a PEG ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.55. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $95.36 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $86.66. The Charles Schwab Corporation has a 52 week low of $61.81 and a 52 week high of $99.59.

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

Charles Schwab Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 8th were issued a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 8th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. Charles Schwab's payout ratio is currently 29.03%.

Charles Schwab declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, July 24th that permits the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase up to 11.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Charles Schwab

In other Charles Schwab news, insider Jonathan S. Beatty sold 6,144 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.81, for a total value of $594,800.64. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 11,923 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,154,265.63. The trade was a 34.01% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Nigel J. Murtagh sold 24,096 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 58,999 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,776,592.09. This represents a 29.00% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 298,214 shares of company stock worth $29,022,580. Company insiders own 6.30% of the company's stock.

Charles Schwab 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.