Rafferty Asset Management LLC Has $43.73 Million Holdings in The Charles Schwab Corporation $SCHW

Key Points

• Rafferty Asset Management LLC increased its stake in The Charles Schwab Corporation by 5.9% in the first quarter, acquiring a total of 558,670 shares valued at approximately $43.73 million.
• The company reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $1.14 for the last quarter, surpassing the estimate of $1.10, and its revenue increased 24.8% year-over-year to $5.85 billion.
• Charles Schwab announced a stock repurchase plan of up to $20 billion, indicating the board's belief that the company's shares are undervalued.

Rafferty Asset Management LLC grew its stake in The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE:SCHW - Free Report) by 5.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 558,670 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 31,249 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC's holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $43,733,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC acquired a new position in Charles Schwab in the 4th quarter valued at $1,455,000. Independent Advisor Alliance boosted its holdings in Charles Schwab by 13.8% during the 1st quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 39,103 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,061,000 after acquiring an additional 4,754 shares during the period. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH raised its position 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. raised its position 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. Finally, World Investment Advisors raised its position in shares of Charles Schwab by 7.6% during the 1st quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 163,007 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $12,760,000 after acquiring an additional 11,505 shares in the last quarter. 84.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on SCHW shares. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Charles Schwab from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. JMP Securities boosted their target price on shares of Charles Schwab from $106.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Charles Schwab in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. TD Securities upped their price objective on Charles Schwab from $95.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on Charles Schwab from $106.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. 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's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $99.60.

Charles Schwab Stock Performance

Shares of SCHW stock traded down $1.18 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $95.91. The stock had a trading volume of 8,829,399 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,916,197. The Charles Schwab Corporation has a twelve month low of $61.16 and a twelve month high of $99.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $174.10 billion, a PE ratio of 25.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.96. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $94.45 and a 200-day simple moving average of $85.74.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 firm's revenue for the quarter was up 24.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.73 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 8th were paid a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 8th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Charles Schwab's payout ratio is presently 29.03%.

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

Insider Activity

In other Charles Schwab news, insider Nigel J. Murtagh sold 24,096 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.91, for a total value of $2,359,239.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Chairman Walter W. Bettinger sold 173,876 shares of the firm's 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 transaction, the chairman directly owned 590,734 shares of the company's stock, valued at $58,388,148.56. The trade was a 22.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 298,299 shares of company stock worth $29,005,931. Corporate 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.