Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. Raises Stock Position in The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE:SCHW)

Key Points

• Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. has increased its stake in The Charles Schwab Corporation by 12.5%, acquiring a total of 52,090 shares valued at approximately $4,078,000.
• Insider selling activity has occurred, with Paul V. Woolway and Nigel J. Murtagh selling over 34,000 shares combined in recent transactions, indicating a decrease in their positions by 20.55% and 29%, respectively.
• The Charles Schwab Corporation's board approved a $20 billion share buyback program, allowing the company to repurchase up to 11.6% of its stock, reflecting a belief that the stock is undervalued.

Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE:SCHW - Free Report) by 12.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 52,090 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 5,789 shares during the period. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $4,078,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. S Bank Fund Management Ltd purchased a new position in Charles Schwab in the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,380,000. National Pension Service raised its holdings in Charles Schwab by 11.9% in the 1st quarter. National Pension Service now owns 3,147,416 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $246,380,000 after acquiring an additional 335,115 shares during the last quarter. Klingman & Associates LLC raised its holdings in Charles Schwab by 41.7% in the 1st quarter. Klingman & Associates LLC now owns 5,787 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $453,000 after acquiring an additional 1,704 shares during the last quarter. GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. purchased a new position in Charles Schwab in the 1st quarter worth approximately $121,000. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings in Charles Schwab by 73.4% in the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,628,057 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $127,381,000 after acquiring an additional 689,222 shares during the last quarter. 84.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on SCHW. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Charles Schwab from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $100.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price 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. William Blair lowered shares of Charles Schwab from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. TD Securities boosted their target price on shares of Charles Schwab from $95.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, JMP Securities boosted their target price on shares of Charles Schwab from $106.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Two 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. According to MarketBeat, Charles Schwab has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $99.60.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Paula A. Sneed sold 8,647 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.06, for a total transaction of $761,454.82. Following the sale, the director directly owned 105,654 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,303,891.24. This represents a 7.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Nigel J. Murtagh sold 24,096 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was 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 trade represents a 29.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 308,016 shares of company stock worth $29,341,433. 6.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Charles Schwab Price Performance

Charles Schwab stock traded down $1.75 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $96.03. The stock had a trading volume of 9,535,466 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,194,136. The firm's 50 day moving average is $93.09 and its 200 day moving average is $84.91. The Charles Schwab Corporation has a one year low of $61.16 and a one year high of $99.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $174.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.81, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $5.85 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.64 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.73 EPS. The business's revenue was up 24.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that The Charles Schwab Corporation will post 4.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Charles Schwab Announces Dividend

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

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

Charles Schwab Company 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.