The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE:SCHW) Shares Sold by Rathbones Group PLC

Key Points

• Rathbones Group PLC reduced its stake in The Charles Schwab Corporation by 55.5% in Q1, selling 38,500 shares and now holding 30,915 shares valued at $2.42 million.
• Charles Schwab reported a Q2 earnings per share of $1.14, surpassing estimates, and had a 24.8% year-over-year revenue increase, reaching $5.85 billion.
• The company approved a $20 billion share repurchase program, allowing the buyback of up to 11.6% of its stock, indicating confidence in its valuation.

Rathbones Group PLC trimmed its holdings in The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE:SCHW - Free Report) by 55.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 30,915 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 38,500 shares during the period. Rathbones Group PLC's holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $2,420,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Westpac Banking Corp lifted its position in Charles Schwab by 76.1% during the 1st quarter. Westpac Banking Corp now owns 110,999 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $8,689,000 after acquiring an additional 47,981 shares during the period. Finer Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Charles Schwab by 5.8% during the first quarter. Finer Wealth Management Inc. now owns 30,733 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,406,000 after purchasing an additional 1,677 shares during the last quarter. Tlwm raised its stake in shares of Charles Schwab by 6.7% during the first quarter. Tlwm now owns 17,567 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,375,000 after purchasing an additional 1,106 shares during the last quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Charles Schwab during the first quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Trajan Wealth LLC grew its position in Charles Schwab by 12.1% in the 1st quarter. Trajan Wealth LLC now owns 72,554 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $5,680,000 after buying an additional 7,809 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.38% of the company's stock.

Charles Schwab Trading Down 3.1%

Shares of SCHW stock opened at $95.63 on Thursday. The Charles Schwab Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $61.16 and a fifty-two week high of $99.59. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $92.72 and a 200-day simple moving average of $84.69. The stock has a market cap of $173.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.71, a P/E/G ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.96.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.14 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $5.85 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.64 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.73 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 24.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that The Charles Schwab Corporation will post 4.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Charles Schwab Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, August 8th will be paid 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 yield of 1.1%. Charles Schwab's dividend payout ratio is presently 29.03%.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on SCHW. Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating and set a $99.00 price objective on shares of Charles Schwab in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Charles Schwab from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Charles Schwab from $102.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Charles Schwab in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, William Blair downgraded Charles Schwab from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $99.35.

Insider Transactions at Charles Schwab

In related news, Chairman Walter W. Bettinger sold 173,876 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.84, for a total transaction of $17,185,903.84. Following the sale, the chairman owned 590,734 shares of the company's stock, valued at $58,388,148.56. This trade represents a 22.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Paul V. Woolway sold 3,290 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.06, for a total transaction of $316,037.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 41,188 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,956,519.28. The trade was a 7.40% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 308,016 shares of company stock worth $29,341,433 in the last quarter. Insiders own 6.30% of the company's stock.

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.

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