The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE:SCHW) Shares Purchased by Westpac Banking Corp

Key Points

• Westpac Banking Corp significantly increased its position in The Charles Schwab Corporation by 76.1%, acquiring an additional 47,981 shares in the first quarter, bringing its total holdings to valued at $8,689,000.
• Various hedge funds have shown strong interest in Charles Schwab, with Brighton Jones LLC boosting its stake by 380.5% in the fourth quarter, reflecting a growing confidence in the company's prospects.
• Charles Schwab is on a robust trajectory, having announced a $20 billion stock buyback plan amid high analyst ratings, with an average target price of $99.35 and a quarter earnings performance exceeding expectations.

Westpac Banking Corp raised its position in shares of The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE:SCHW - Free Report) by 76.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 110,999 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 47,981 shares during the period. Westpac Banking Corp's holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $8,689,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Charles Schwab during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,455,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH lifted its holdings in shares of 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 worth $92,493,000 after buying an additional 68,858 shares during the period. Independent Advisor Alliance lifted its holdings in shares of Charles Schwab by 13.8% in the 1st quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 39,103 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,061,000 after buying an additional 4,754 shares during the period. Graham Capital Management L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 worth $8,317,000 after buying an additional 80,112 shares during the period. Finally, World Investment Advisors lifted its holdings in shares of Charles Schwab by 7.6% in the 1st quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 163,007 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $12,760,000 after buying an additional 11,505 shares during the period. 84.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Charles Schwab Stock Down 3.1%

Charles Schwab stock traded down $3.06 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $95.63. The company's stock had a trading volume of 12,455,199 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,176,303. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $92.72 and its 200-day simple moving average is $84.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.53. The Charles Schwab Corporation has a 52-week low of $61.16 and a 52-week high of $99.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $173.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.71, a PEG ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.96.

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

Charles Schwab Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 8th will be issued a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 8th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Charles Schwab's dividend payout ratio is currently 29.03%.

Charles Schwab declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, July 24th that permits the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to repurchase up to 11.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on SCHW shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Charles Schwab from $92.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. JMP Securities upped their target price on 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 upped their target price on Charles Schwab from $102.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating and set a $99.00 price objective on shares of Charles Schwab in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on Charles Schwab from $106.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Charles Schwab presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $99.35.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, General Counsel Peter J. Morgan III sold 10,176 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.39, for a total value of $889,280.64. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Paul V. Woolway sold 10,129 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.01, for a total value of $911,711.29. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 39,154 shares in the company, valued at $3,524,251.54. This represents a 20.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 308,016 shares of company stock valued at $29,341,433. 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.