The Charles Schwab Corporation $SCHW Shares Purchased by Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC

Key Points

• Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in Charles Schwab Corporation by 2.4%, owning about 0.06% of the company, valued at approximately $101.88 million.
• Charles Schwab announced a $20 billion stock repurchase program, allowing the company to buy up to 11.6% of its shares, suggesting that leadership believes the stock is undervalued.
• In a recent earnings report, Charles Schwab beat analysts' expectations with an EPS of $1.14 on revenue of $5.85 billion, reflecting a 24.8% increase in quarterly revenue year-over-year.

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE:SCHW - Free Report) by 2.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,113,723 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 26,368 shares during the quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC owned approximately 0.06% of Charles Schwab worth $101,883,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Atwood & Palmer Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Charles Schwab in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Charles Schwab by 75.0% in the first quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 350 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Charles Schwab by 97.9% in the first quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 386 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Charles Schwab during the first quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Activest Wealth Management lifted its position in Charles Schwab by 6,650.0% during the first quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 405 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 399 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.38% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Charles Schwab from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. JMP Securities lifted their price objective on Charles Schwab from $106.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Charles Schwab from $117.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Charles Schwab from $106.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $102.00 target price on Charles Schwab and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Sixteen equities 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 company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $100.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Jonathan S. Beatty sold 6,144 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.81, for a total value of $594,800.64. Following the transaction, the insider owned 11,923 shares in the company, valued at $1,154,265.63. The trade was a 34.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Paul V. Woolway sold 3,205 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.20, for a total value of $305,116.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 37,983 shares in the company, valued at $3,615,981.60. This trade represents a 7.78% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 267,213 shares of company stock worth $26,232,180. Corporate insiders own 6.30% of the company's stock.

Charles Schwab Stock Performance

Shares of Charles Schwab stock traded up $0.99 on Friday, hitting $94.27. The stock had a trading volume of 14,854,005 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,421,421. The Charles Schwab Corporation has a 52-week low of $62.41 and a 52-week high of $99.59. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The stock has a market cap of $171.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.34, a P/E/G ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.96. The company's 50 day moving average price is $95.42 and its 200 day moving average price is $87.33.

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 return on equity of 19.30% and a net margin of 33.68%.The business had revenue of $5.85 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.64 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.73 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 24.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that The Charles Schwab Corporation will post 4.22 EPS for the current year.

Charles Schwab Announces Dividend

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

Charles Schwab declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Thursday, July 24th that authorizes the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 11.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's leadership 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.