The Charles Schwab Corporation $SCHW Shares Bought by Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co

Key Points

• Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co increased its stake in The Charles Schwab Corporation by 27.5%, acquiring an additional 5,522 shares in the first quarter, bringing its total ownership to 25,599 shares valued at approximately $2,004,000.
• Analysts have raised their price targets for Charles Schwab, with Barclays increasing its target from $106.00 to $113.00 and a majority of analysts rating the stock as a Buy.
• The Charles Schwab Corporation announced a $20 billion stock buyback plan, allowing the company to repurchase up to 11.6% of its shares, signaling that the board believes the stock is undervalued.

Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co grew its position in shares of The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE:SCHW - Free Report) by 27.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 25,599 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 5,522 shares during the quarter. Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co's holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $2,004,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SCHW. Atwood & Palmer Inc. acquired a new position in Charles Schwab during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Charles Schwab by 75.0% during the 1st quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 350 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the period. Stone House Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Charles Schwab during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Activest Wealth Management boosted its position in Charles Schwab by 6,650.0% during the 1st quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 405 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 399 shares during the period. Finally, WFA Asset Management Corp bought a new position in Charles Schwab in the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. 84.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays lifted their target price on Charles Schwab from $106.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $99.00 target price on shares of Charles Schwab in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $102.00 price objective on Charles Schwab and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. JMP Securities boosted their price objective on Charles Schwab from $106.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $99.60.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Charles Schwab Stock Down 5.7%

Shares of Charles Schwab stock opened at $92.09 on Monday. The stock's fifty day moving average is $95.20 and its 200-day moving average is $86.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $167.15 billion, a PE ratio of 24.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The Charles Schwab Corporation has a 12-month low of $61.16 and a 12-month high of $99.59.

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

Charles Schwab Announces Dividend

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 8th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Charles Schwab's dividend payout ratio is currently 29.03%.

Charles Schwab announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback 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 repurchase up to 11.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are 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.

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