Vanguard Group Inc. Purchases 19,817,022 Shares of The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE:SCHW)

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in The Charles Schwab Corporation by 15.4% during the 1st quarter, now owning approximately 8.18% of the company's stock, valued at around $11.62 billion.
• The Charles Schwab Corporation reported earnings of $1.14 per share for the quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations by $0.04, along with a year-over-year revenue increase of 24.8%.
• The company also initiated a $20 billion stock repurchase plan, indicating a belief that its stock is undervalued.

Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE:SCHW - Free Report) by 15.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 148,395,252 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 19,817,022 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 8.18% of Charles Schwab worth $11,616,380,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in SCHW. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Charles Schwab by 354.5% during the fourth quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 11,005,881 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $814,545,000 after buying an additional 8,584,173 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Charles Schwab by 69.4% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,700,013 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $717,898,000 after acquiring an additional 3,974,940 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its position in shares of Charles Schwab by 742.0% during the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 4,181,202 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $309,451,000 after acquiring an additional 3,684,640 shares during the last quarter. PointState Capital LP bought a new stake in shares of Charles Schwab during the 4th quarter worth $237,280,000. Finally, Farallon Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Charles Schwab in the 4th quarter worth $234,538,000. 84.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Charles Schwab

In related news, Chairman Walter W. Bettinger sold 173,876 shares of Charles Schwab stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.84, for a total value of $17,185,903.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman owned 590,734 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $58,388,148.56. The trade was a 22.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Jonathan S. Beatty sold 2,850 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.57, for a total transaction of $249,574.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 15,219 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,332,727.83. This represents a 15.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 308,016 shares of company stock valued at $29,341,433. Insiders own 6.30% of the company's stock.

Charles Schwab Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of NYSE:SCHW traded down $0.81 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $95.91. 7,260,222 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,161,237. The company has a market capitalization of $174.26 billion, a PE ratio of 25.78, a P/E/G ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.96. The Charles Schwab Corporation has a 52-week low of $61.16 and a 52-week high of $99.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.53. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $91.98 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $84.24.

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 for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $5.85 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.64 billion. Charles Schwab had a return on equity of 19.73% and a net margin of 33.68%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 24.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.73 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that The Charles Schwab Corporation will post 4.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Charles Schwab announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback 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 purchase up to 11.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Charles Schwab Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 8th will be paid a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 8th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. Charles Schwab's payout ratio is 29.03%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SCHW has been the subject of several analyst reports. UBS Group upped their target price on Charles Schwab from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. JMP Securities boosted their price objective on Charles Schwab from $106.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Charles Schwab from $92.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Charles Schwab from $117.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Charles Schwab from $106.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Charles Schwab has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $99.35.

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.