The Charles Schwab Corporation $SCHW Shares Purchased by IFM Investors Pty Ltd

Key Points

• IFM Investors Pty Ltd increased its stake in Charles Schwab by 7.7% in Q1, acquiring an additional 22,652 shares to hold 318,346 shares valued at approximately $24.92 million.
• Several hedge funds have significantly increased their positions in Charles Schwab, with Brighton Jones LLC increasing its stake by 380.5%, now owning 24,240 shares worth about $1.79 million.
• The company recently declared a $0.27 quarterly dividend and authorized a $20 billion stock buyback plan, indicating confidence in the stock's under-valuation.

IFM Investors Pty Ltd boosted its stake in shares of The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE:SCHW - Free Report) by 7.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 318,346 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 22,652 shares during the period. IFM Investors Pty Ltd's holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $24,920,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of SCHW. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Charles Schwab by 380.5% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 24,240 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,794,000 after purchasing an additional 19,195 shares during the last quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Charles Schwab by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 30,613 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,266,000 after purchasing an additional 718 shares during the last quarter. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Charles Schwab during the 4th quarter valued at $2,100,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Charles Schwab by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 206,135 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $15,256,000 after purchasing an additional 580 shares during the last quarter. Finally, OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Charles Schwab by 20.5% during the 4th quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp now owns 62,943 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,658,000 after purchasing an additional 10,690 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.38% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Charles Schwab

In other Charles Schwab news, insider Jonathan S. Beatty sold 6,144 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.81, for a total transaction of $594,800.64. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 11,923 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,154,265.63. This trade represents a 34.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, General Counsel Peter J. Morgan III sold 50,016 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.00, for a total value of $4,851,552.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 298,214 shares of company stock worth $29,022,580 in the last three months. Company insiders own 6.30% of the company's stock.

Charles Schwab Stock Performance

SCHW traded down $0.44 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $93.50. 7,701,819 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,512,390. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $95.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $86.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $169.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.96. 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 Charles Schwab Corporation has a 1-year low of $61.81 and a 1-year high of $99.59.

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

Charles Schwab announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, July 24th that allows the company to buyback $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to purchase up to 11.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Charles Schwab Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 8th were given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 8th. Charles Schwab's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.03%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on SCHW. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $99.00 price objective on shares of Charles Schwab in a report on Friday, July 18th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Charles Schwab from $107.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 15th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded Charles Schwab from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $65.00 to $82.00 in a report on Monday, June 9th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Charles Schwab from $80.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on Charles Schwab from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $99.60.

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.