Ridgewood Investments LLC Sells 4,756 Shares of The Charles Schwab Corporation $SCHW

Key Points

• Ridgewood Investments LLC has reduced its stake in The Charles Schwab Corporation by 33.3%, selling 4,756 shares to hold 9,527 shares, valued at approximately $869,000.
• Charles Schwab's recent quarterly earnings report exceeded expectations, showing an EPS of $1.14 against an estimate of $1.10, alongside a revenue of $5.85 billion compared to the forecasted $5.64 billion.
• The company announced a $20 billion stock buyback plan, indicating management's belief that the stock is undervalued, while also declaring a quarterly dividend of $0.27 per share.

Ridgewood Investments LLC reduced its position in shares of The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE:SCHW - Free Report) by 33.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,527 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 4,756 shares during the period. Ridgewood Investments LLC's holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $869,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in Charles Schwab by 380.5% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 24,240 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,794,000 after acquiring an additional 19,195 shares during the period. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Charles Schwab during the 4th quarter valued at $350,000. Vise Technologies Inc. raised its stake in shares of Charles Schwab by 148.6% during the 4th quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 12,146 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $899,000 after purchasing an additional 7,261 shares during the period. GTS Securities LLC raised its stake in shares of Charles Schwab by 125.3% during the 4th quarter. GTS Securities LLC now owns 12,091 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $895,000 after purchasing an additional 59,892 shares during the period. Finally, Forum Financial Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of Charles Schwab by 13.5% in the 4th quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 19,636 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,453,000 after buying an additional 2,336 shares during the last quarter. 84.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Charles Schwab Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of Charles Schwab stock opened at $94.27 on Monday. 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 Charles Schwab Corporation has a 1 year low of $62.41 and a 1 year high of $99.59. The firm has a market cap of $171.12 billion, a PE ratio of 25.34, a PEG ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $95.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $87.41.

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 for 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 business's quarterly revenue was up 24.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.73 EPS. Analysts expect that The Charles Schwab Corporation will post 4.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Charles Schwab Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, August 8th were given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 8th. Charles Schwab's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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 buyback $20.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase up to 11.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on SCHW. JMP Securities raised their price objective on shares of Charles Schwab from $106.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Charles Schwab from $102.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Zacks Research cut shares of Charles Schwab from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Charles Schwab from $80.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Charles Schwab from $117.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Charles Schwab has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $100.00.

Insider Transactions at Charles Schwab

In related news, insider Nigel J. Murtagh sold 24,096 shares of the company'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 completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 58,999 shares in the company, valued at $5,776,592.09. This represents a 29.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Jonathan S. Beatty sold 6,144 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.81, for a total transaction of $594,800.64. Following the sale, the insider directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 267,213 shares of company stock valued at $26,232,180. Insiders own 6.30% of the company's stock.

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.

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