United Asset Strategies Inc. Buys 4,319 Shares of The Charles Schwab Corporation $SCHW

Key Points

• United Asset Strategies Inc. has increased its stake in The Charles Schwab Corporation by 2.3%, now owning 192,558 shares valued at approximately $15.07 million.
• Several institutional investors have also boosted their positions in Charles Schwab, with Price T Rowe Associates Inc. increasing their holdings by 12.3% to 82 million shares worth over $6.4 billion.
• Charles Schwab recently announced a $20 billion stock buyback plan and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.27 per share, highlighting confidence in their share valuation.

United Asset Strategies Inc. grew its stake in The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE:SCHW - Free Report) by 2.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 192,558 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 4,319 shares during the period. Charles Schwab makes up approximately 1.4% of United Asset Strategies Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest position. United Asset Strategies Inc.'s holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $15,073,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in SCHW. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in shares of Charles Schwab by 380.5% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 24,240 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,794,000 after buying an additional 19,195 shares during the last quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Charles Schwab by 16.2% in the fourth quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 47,591 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,522,000 after buying an additional 6,636 shares during the last quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG acquired a new stake in shares of Charles Schwab in the fourth quarter worth about $220,000. Pinebridge Investments L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Charles Schwab in the fourth quarter worth about $41,787,000. Finally, Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC lifted its position in shares of Charles Schwab by 35.7% in the fourth quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC now owns 2,139 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $159,000 after buying an additional 563 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.38% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Chairman Walter W. Bettinger sold 173,876 shares of the business's 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 in the company, valued at $58,388,148.56. The trade was a 22.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Nigel J. Murtagh sold 24,096 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the insider owned 58,999 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,776,592.09. This represents a 29.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 250,340 shares of company stock valued at $24,250,303. Corporate insiders own 6.30% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on SCHW shares. Redburn Atlantic upgraded Charles Schwab from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $65.00 to $82.00 in a research note on Monday, June 9th. 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. Citigroup lifted 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. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Charles Schwab from $80.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Charles Schwab in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $99.60.

Charles Schwab Stock Performance

SCHW traded down $0.1690 on Friday, hitting $95.6510. 12,859,422 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,972,781. The Charles Schwab Corporation has a 52 week low of $61.16 and a 52 week high of $99.59. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $173.63 billion, a PE ratio of 25.71, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.96. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $93.85 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $85.37.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.64 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.73 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 24.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that The Charles Schwab Corporation will post 4.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Charles Schwab announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, July 24th that authorizes the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase up to 11.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Charles Schwab Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, August 8th were paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 8th. Charles Schwab's payout ratio is currently 29.03%.

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.