Public Sector Pension Investment Board Has $35.67 Million Stake in The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE:SCHW)

Key Points

• The Public Sector Pension Investment Board reduced its holdings in The Charles Schwab Corporation by 12.5% during the 1st quarter, now owning 455,604 shares valued at approximately $35.67 million.
• Insider sales included Chairman Walter W. Bettinger, who sold 173,876 shares valued at over $17 million, representing a 22.74% decrease in his ownership.
• Charles Schwab announced a $20 billion stock repurchase program, indicating confidence from the board in the undervaluation of its shares.

Public Sector Pension Investment Board cut its stake in The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE:SCHW - Free Report) by 12.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 455,604 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 65,321 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board's holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $35,665,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Charles Schwab by 1.6% during the 1st 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. lifted its holdings in shares of Charles Schwab by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 19,271 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,509,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the period. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Charles Schwab by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,551 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $513,000 after acquiring an additional 132 shares during the period. Journey Strategic Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Charles Schwab by 3.1% during the 1st quarter. Journey Strategic Wealth LLC now owns 4,486 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $351,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares during the period. Finally, Meridian Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Charles Schwab by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,192 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $485,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares during the period. 84.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Charles Schwab

In other news, insider Paul V. Woolway sold 3,290 shares of Charles Schwab stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.06, for a total transaction of $316,037.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 41,188 shares in the company, valued at $3,956,519.28. The trade was a 7.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Chairman Walter W. Bettinger sold 173,876 shares of Charles Schwab stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chairman owned 590,734 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $58,388,148.56. This represents a 22.74% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 308,016 shares of company stock worth $29,341,433. Corporate insiders own 6.30% of the company's stock.

Charles Schwab Price Performance

SCHW traded down $3.06 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $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 debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.55. The company 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. The Charles Schwab Corporation has a twelve month low of $61.16 and a twelve month high of $99.59. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $92.72 and its 200-day simple moving average is $84.69.

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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $5.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.64 billion. Charles Schwab had a net margin of 33.68% and a return on equity of 19.30%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 24.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.73 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that The Charles Schwab Corporation will post 4.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Charles Schwab Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on SCHW. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Charles Schwab from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Charles Schwab from $92.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Wells Fargo & Company set a $102.00 price objective on shares of Charles Schwab and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $99.00 price objective on shares of Charles Schwab in a report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Charles Schwab from $117.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Two investment 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 MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $99.35.

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.