The Charles Schwab Corporation $SCHW Shares Sold by Fiduciary Financial Group LLC

Key Points

• Fiduciary Financial Group LLC reduced its stake in Charles Schwab by 5.8% during the second quarter, owning 47,253 shares valued at approximately $4.3 million.
• Charles Schwab's board has authorized a $20 billion stock buyback, allowing for the purchase of up to 11.6% of its shares, indicating confidence in the undervaluation of its stock.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.27 per share, representing an annualized yield of 1.2%, with a dividend payout ratio of 29.03%.

Fiduciary Financial Group LLC lowered its position in shares of The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE:SCHW - Free Report) by 5.8% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 47,253 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 2,903 shares during the period. Charles Schwab accounts for approximately 0.8% of Fiduciary Financial Group LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest position. Fiduciary Financial Group LLC's holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $4,308,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of SCHW. Bain Capital Public Equity Management II LLC acquired a new position in Charles Schwab in the first quarter valued at $79,605,000. Independent Advisor Alliance boosted its stake in Charles Schwab by 13.8% in the first quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 39,103 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,061,000 after acquiring an additional 4,754 shares in the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH boosted its stake in Charles Schwab by 6.2% in the first quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 1,181,563 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $92,493,000 after acquiring an additional 68,858 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors boosted its stake in Charles Schwab by 7.6% in the first quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 163,007 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $12,760,000 after acquiring an additional 11,505 shares in the last quarter. Finally, United Services Automobile Association boosted its stake in Charles Schwab by 14.1% in the first quarter. United Services Automobile Association now owns 39,512 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,074,000 after acquiring an additional 4,869 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.38% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Jonathan S. Beatty sold 6,144 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.81, for a total transaction of $594,800.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 11,923 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,154,265.63. This represents a 34.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Chairman Walter W. Bettinger sold 173,876 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at $58,388,148.56. This represents a 22.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 298,214 shares of company stock valued at $29,022,580 over the last ninety days. 6.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Charles Schwab Price Performance

Shares of SCHW opened at $93.50 on Friday. The Charles Schwab Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $61.81 and a fifty-two week high of $99.59. The company 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 firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $95.41 and a 200-day simple moving average of $86.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.55.

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

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

Charles Schwab Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, August 8th were issued 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 is currently 29.03%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on SCHW. Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Charles Schwab in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Charles Schwab from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Charles Schwab from $117.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. JMP Securities increased their target price on shares of 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, Wells Fargo & Company set a $102.00 target price on shares of Charles Schwab and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $99.60.

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.

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