Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Boosts Holdings in The Charles Schwab Corporation $SCHW

Key Points

• Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management increased its holdings in The Charles Schwab Corporation by 5.1% during the second quarter, now owning 224,140 shares worth approximately $20.45 million.
• Insider transactions included significant sales by General Counsel Peter J. Morgan III and Chairman Walter W. Bettinger, with a total of 267,213 shares sold in the last three months.
• Charles Schwab recently announced a $20 billion share buyback program, signaling confidence in the company's stock valuation, along with a quarterly dividend payment of $0.27 per share.

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd increased its position in shares of The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE:SCHW - Free Report) by 5.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 224,140 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 10,817 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd's holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $20,451,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Charles Schwab by 1.6% in the first quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC now owns 7,986 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $625,000 after acquiring an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. HM Payson & Co. lifted its stake 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 valued at $1,509,000 after buying an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake 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 valued at $513,000 after buying an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. Journey Strategic Wealth LLC lifted its stake 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 valued at $351,000 after buying an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Meridian Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake 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 valued at $485,000 after buying an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. 84.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Charles Schwab

In other Charles Schwab news, 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 completion of the sale, the insider owned 11,923 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,154,265.63. This represents a 34.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Peter J. Morgan III sold 50,016 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.00, for a total transaction of $4,851,552.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 267,213 shares of company stock worth $26,232,180 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 6.30% of the company's stock.

Charles Schwab Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of SCHW stock traded up $0.99 on Friday, hitting $94.27. 14,854,005 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,421,421. 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 Charles Schwab Corporation has a one year low of $62.41 and a one year high of $99.59. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $95.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $87.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $171.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.34, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.96.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $5.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.64 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.73 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 24.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that The Charles Schwab Corporation will post 4.22 EPS for the current year.

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

Charles Schwab Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, August 8th were issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 8th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Charles Schwab's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.03%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on SCHW. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on shares of Charles Schwab from $114.00 to $113.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Charles Schwab from $102.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Charles Schwab from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Wells Fargo & Company set a $102.00 price target on shares of Charles Schwab and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Charles Schwab from $117.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $100.00.

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.