The Charles Schwab Corporation $SCHW Shares Purchased by Flputnam Investment Management Co.

Key Points

• Flputnam Investment Management Co. increased its stake in The Charles Schwab Corporation by 1.6%, owning 332,774 shares valued at approximately $26 million.
• Institutional investors collectively hold 84.38% of Charles Schwab's stock, with major increases in holdings from Vanguard Group, Price T Rowe Associates, and Wellington Management Group.
• Charles Schwab announced a $20 billion share repurchase program and reported a Q2 EPS of $1.14, exceeding analyst expectations of $1.10 per share.

Flputnam Investment Management Co. boosted its holdings in shares of The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE:SCHW - Free Report) by 1.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 332,774 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 5,356 shares during the period. Flputnam Investment Management Co.'s holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $26,050,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Charles Schwab by 15.4% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 148,395,252 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $11,616,380,000 after buying an additional 19,817,022 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in Charles Schwab by 12.3% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 82,048,984 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $6,422,795,000 after buying an additional 8,954,248 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Charles Schwab by 10.8% during the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 17,440,301 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,365,227,000 after buying an additional 1,700,384 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in Charles Schwab by 5.0% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 15,586,450 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,220,107,000 after buying an additional 743,906 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Charles Schwab by 595.7% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 15,488,777 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,212,461,000 after buying an additional 13,262,309 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.38% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Charles Schwab in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Charles Schwab from $102.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Charles Schwab from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $99.00 price objective on shares of Charles Schwab in a report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic raised shares of Charles Schwab from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $65.00 to $82.00 in a report on Monday, June 9th. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $99.60.

Charles Schwab Trading Down 1.2%

NYSE:SCHW opened at $95.91 on Friday. The company's 50 day moving average is $94.58 and its 200-day moving average is $85.85. 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. The firm has a market cap of $174.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.78, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 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, topping 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 business had revenue of $5.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.64 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.73 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 24.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 8th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Charles Schwab's dividend payout ratio is presently 29.03%.

Charles Schwab declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, July 24th that authorizes the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to reacquire up to 11.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Paul V. Woolway sold 3,290 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owned 41,188 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,956,519.28. The trade was a 7.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, General Counsel Peter J. Morgan III sold 50,016 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.00, for a total transaction of $4,851,552.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 298,299 shares of company stock worth $29,005,931 in the last quarter. 6.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.

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