Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Reduces Stock Holdings in The Charles Schwab Corporation $SCHW

Key Points

• Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. reduced its stake in Charles Schwab by 54.9%, holding 6,049 shares valued at $474,000 after the sale.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.27 per share, with a yield of 1.1%, to be paid on August 22nd.
• Charles Schwab has authorized a stock repurchase plan of $20.00 billion, allowing the company to buy back up to 11.6% of its stock.

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lowered its stake in shares of The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE:SCHW - Free Report) by 54.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 6,049 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 7,372 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd.'s holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $474,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT purchased a new position in Charles Schwab during the 1st quarter worth $189,000. Townsquare Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Charles Schwab by 126.1% during the first quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 139,951 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $10,955,000 after purchasing an additional 78,065 shares in the last quarter. PCJ Investment Counsel Ltd. purchased a new position in Charles Schwab during the first quarter worth about $1,174,000. Forsta AP Fonden grew its position in Charles Schwab by 6.8% in the 1st quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 389,701 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $30,506,000 after purchasing an additional 24,700 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Savvy Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Charles Schwab by 7.1% in the 1st quarter. Savvy Advisors Inc. now owns 20,775 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,626,000 after buying an additional 1,378 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.38% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on SCHW shares. Citigroup increased their price target on Charles Schwab from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating and set a $99.00 price objective on shares of Charles Schwab in a report on Friday, July 18th. Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Charles Schwab in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Barclays upped their price objective on Charles Schwab from $106.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on Charles Schwab from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned 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 target price of $99.60.

Insider Buying and Selling at Charles Schwab

In related news, insider Nigel J. Murtagh sold 24,096 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.91, for a total value of $2,359,239.36. Following the transaction, the insider owned 58,999 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,776,592.09. This trade represents a 29.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Walter W. Bettinger sold 173,876 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.84, for a total transaction of $17,185,903.84. Following the transaction, the chairman directly owned 590,734 shares in the company, valued at $58,388,148.56. This trade represents a 22.74% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 250,340 shares of company stock valued at $24,250,303. 6.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Charles Schwab Price Performance

Charles Schwab stock traded down $0.1690 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $95.6510. 12,859,422 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,972,781. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.55. The stock has a market cap of $173.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.96. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $93.68 and a 200-day moving average price of $85.25. The Charles Schwab Corporation has a one year low of $61.16 and a one year high of $99.59.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $5.85 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.64 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.73 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 24.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that The Charles Schwab Corporation will post 4.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Charles Schwab Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 8th will be given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 8th. Charles Schwab's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.03%.

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

About Charles Schwab

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.