The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Cuts Stock Position in The Charles Schwab Corporation $SCHW

Key Points

• The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company reduced its Charles Schwab stake by 9.4%, selling 185,031 shares and retaining 1.79 million shares worth approximately $168.3 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds still own 84.38% of SCHW.
• Charles Schwab reported quarterly EPS of $1.62 versus the $1.56 consensus estimate, while revenue reached $7.07 billion and grew 20.9% year over year. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating with an average price target of $119.94.
• SCHW shares opened at $106.17, near their 52-week high, and the company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.32 per share, equivalent to a 1.2% annualized yield.

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company decreased its position in shares of The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE:SCHW - Free Report) by 9.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,790,965 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 185,031 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned about 0.10% of Charles Schwab worth $168,315,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Charles Schwab during the fourth quarter worth about $1,994,189,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of Charles Schwab by 22.9% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 16,162,082 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,518,913,000 after purchasing an additional 3,009,884 shares during the period. Primecap Management Co. CA grew its holdings in shares of Charles Schwab by 9.7% in the fourth quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 23,276,071 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,325,512,000 after purchasing an additional 2,066,884 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth grew its holdings in shares of Charles Schwab by 716.5% in the fourth quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 2,101,463 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $209,948,000 after purchasing an additional 1,844,095 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. purchased a new stake in Charles Schwab during the 1st quarter worth approximately $129,140,000. 84.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

More Charles Schwab News

Here are the key news stories impacting Charles Schwab this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Planned $20 billion share repurchase: Charles Schwab reportedly plans to buy back $20 billion of its stock, a substantial capital-allocation commitment that could reduce shares outstanding, support earnings per share and signal management’s confidence in the company’s valuation and cash-generation outlook. Charles Schwab to buy back $20 billion of stock
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts continue to favor SCHW as a growth stock: Charles Schwab was included among analysts’ preferred growth names, reflecting confidence in demand trends and longer-term catalysts. The view is consistent with the company’s latest quarterly performance, which included earnings and revenue above consensus and 20.9% year-over-year revenue growth. Best Growth Stocks to Buy This Week
• Positive Sentiment: Retail investor sentiment is improving: Schwab executive James Kostulias said bullishness among retail traders is rising. Greater investor participation and trading activity could support Schwab’s brokerage-related revenue and asset-gathering trends. Charles Schwab executive discusses rising retail bullishness
• Positive Sentiment: Potential cryptocurrency-regulation tailwind: Schwab reportedly backed the CLARITY Act ahead of an August deadline. Clearer digital-asset rules could help established financial firms expand crypto-related products and services, although the legislation remains subject to the legislative process. Charles Schwab backs the CLARITY Act
• Neutral Sentiment: Commentary highlighting “three big reasons” to favor SCHW and a report on billionaire investor Andreas Halvorsen’s holdings add to positive market attention, but these opinions are not new company fundamentals or formal analyst actions. Three big reasons to favor Charles Schwab Andreas Halvorsen’s top picks
• Negative Sentiment: Several insiders sold shares, including General Counsel Peter J. Morgan III and executives Jonathan S. Beatty and Nigel J. Murtagh. The transactions were made under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans, reducing their significance as a bearish signal, but they may still create limited investor caution.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on SCHW. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Charles Schwab from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Charles Schwab from $108.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Charles Schwab from $133.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Charles Schwab from $128.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Charles Schwab in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $119.94.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Nigel J. Murtagh sold 4,053 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.14, for a total value of $422,079.42. Following the transaction, the insider owned 57,972 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,037,204.08. This represents a 6.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Jonathan S. Beatty sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.21, for a total value of $208,420.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 11,738 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,223,216.98. This represents a 14.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 17,005 shares of company stock worth $1,733,892. Corporate insiders own 6.30% of the company's stock.

Charles Schwab Stock Up 1.9%

Shares of Charles Schwab stock opened at $106.17 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The Charles Schwab Corporation has a 52-week low of $83.96 and a 52-week high of $107.50. The company has a market capitalization of $184.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.30, a P/E/G ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a 50 day moving average of $94.46 and a 200 day moving average of $95.37.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.62 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.56 by $0.06. Charles Schwab had a net margin of 38.79% and a return on equity of 24.73%. The company had revenue of $7.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.90 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.14 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 20.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that The Charles Schwab Corporation will post 6.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Charles Schwab Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Investors of record on Friday, August 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Charles Schwab's payout ratio is presently 23.27%.

Charles Schwab Profile

Charles Schwab Corporation NYSE: SCHW is a diversified financial services firm that provides brokerage, banking, wealth management and advisory services to individual investors, independent investment advisors and institutional clients. Its primary offerings include retail brokerage accounts, online trading platforms, Schwab-branded mutual funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs), retirement plan services, custodial services for independent Registered Investment Advisors (RIAs), and banking products through Charles Schwab Bank.

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