LGT Group Foundation Sells 2,632 Shares of The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE:SCHW)

Key Points

• LGT Group Foundation reduced its stake in The Charles Schwab Corporation by 3.9% during the first quarter, now holding 64,203 shares valued at approximately $5.03 million.
• The company approved a $20 billion stock buyback program, indicating management's belief that the stock is undervalued.
• Charles Schwab reported a quarterly EPS of $1.14, exceeding analyst expectations, with revenue rising by 24.8% year-over-year.

LGT Group Foundation cut its stake in The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE:SCHW - Free Report) by 3.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 64,203 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 2,632 shares during the period. LGT Group Foundation's holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $5,026,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SCHW. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Charles Schwab by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC now owns 7,986 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $625,000 after buying an additional 129 shares during the period. HM Payson & Co. increased its holdings in Charles Schwab by 0.7% in 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 during the period. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Charles Schwab by 2.1% in 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 during the period. Journey Strategic Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Charles Schwab by 3.1% in 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 during the period. Finally, Meridian Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Charles Schwab by 2.2% in 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 during the period. 84.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on SCHW. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Charles Schwab from $92.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. JMP Securities raised 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 note on Monday, July 21st. Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Charles Schwab in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. TD Securities raised their price target 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, UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Charles Schwab from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $99.35.

Insider Buying and Selling at Charles Schwab

In other Charles Schwab news, insider Jonathan S. Beatty sold 2,850 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.57, for a total transaction of $249,574.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 15,219 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,332,727.83. This represents a 15.77% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Nigel J. Murtagh sold 24,096 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider directly owned 58,999 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,776,592.09. This represents a 29.00% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 308,016 shares of company stock worth $29,341,433. Company insiders own 6.30% of the company's stock.

Charles Schwab Trading Up 2.3%

NYSE SCHW traded up $2.21 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $97.80. The company's stock had a trading volume of 11,310,032 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,257,840. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $92.93 and a 200-day simple moving average of $84.79. The stock has a market cap of $177.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.29, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.96. The Charles Schwab Corporation has a 52 week low of $61.16 and a 52 week high of $99.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.53.

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

Charles Schwab Dividend Announcement

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

Charles Schwab announced that its board has authorized a share 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 reacquire up to 11.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.