Rockland Trust Co. Grows Stock Holdings in The Charles Schwab Corporation $SCHW

Key Points

• Rockland Trust Co. significantly increased its holdings in The Charles Schwab Corporation by 5,141.2%, acquiring an additional 237,010 shares during the second quarter, bringing its total to 241,620 shares valued at approximately $22 million.
• Charles Schwab recently reported a quarterly EPS of $1.14, beating the consensus estimate, with revenue up 24.8% year-over-year at $5.85 billion.
• The company has initiated a $20 billion share buyback program, suggesting that the board believes the stock is currently undervalued, and dividends were declared at $0.27 per share with a yield of 1.2%.

Rockland Trust Co. raised its position in The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE:SCHW - Free Report) by 5,141.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 241,620 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 237,010 shares during the quarter. Rockland Trust Co.'s holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $22,045,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Atwood & Palmer Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Charles Schwab during the first quarter valued at about $25,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Charles Schwab by 75.0% during the first quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 350 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the period. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Charles Schwab by 97.9% during the first quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 386 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 191 shares during the period. Stone House Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Charles Schwab during the first quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Activest Wealth Management increased its position in shares of Charles Schwab by 6,650.0% during the first quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 405 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 399 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.38% of the company's stock.

Charles Schwab Stock Up 1.3%

SCHW opened at $93.30 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The Charles Schwab Corporation has a 1-year low of $62.41 and a 1-year high of $99.59. The company has a market capitalization of $169.35 billion, a PE ratio of 25.08, a PEG ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.96. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $95.38 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $87.13.

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

Charles Schwab Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 8th were given a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 8th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. Charles Schwab's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.03%.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on SCHW shares. JMP Securities boosted their price target on shares of Charles Schwab from $106.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. William Blair cut shares of Charles Schwab from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $99.00 price target on shares of Charles Schwab in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Barclays boosted their price target 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. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Charles Schwab from $102.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Charles Schwab presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $100.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Charles Schwab news, General Counsel Peter J. Morgan III sold 50,016 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.00, for a total value of $4,851,552.00. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Paul V. Woolway sold 3,290 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.06, for a total transaction of $316,037.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 41,188 shares in the company, valued at $3,956,519.28. The trade was a 7.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 267,213 shares of company stock valued at $26,232,180. 6.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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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