Vestcor Inc Grows Position in The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE:SCHW)

Key Points

• Vestcor Inc increased its holdings in The Charles Schwab Corporation by 12.7%, owning 33,160 shares valued at approximately $2.6 million as of the latest quarter.
• The Charles Schwab Corporation has announced a share buyback program allowing for the repurchase of up to $20 billion in shares, reflecting confidence in the company's undervalued stock.
• Charles Schwab reported a strong quarterly performance with an EPS of $1.14, surpassing expectations, and a significant year-over-year revenue increase of 24.8%.

Vestcor Inc raised its position in The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE:SCHW - Free Report) by 12.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 33,160 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 3,728 shares during the quarter. Vestcor Inc's holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $2,596,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Capricorn Fund Managers Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Charles Schwab by 21.2% during the 1st quarter. Capricorn Fund Managers Ltd now owns 12,925 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,012,000 after buying an additional 2,260 shares during the period. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Charles Schwab by 19.6% during the 1st quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 6,702 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $525,000 after buying an additional 1,096 shares during the period. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise purchased a new stake in shares of Charles Schwab during the 1st quarter valued at about $1,576,000. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Charles Schwab by 6.7% during the 1st quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 8,216 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $643,000 after buying an additional 519 shares during the period. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Charles Schwab by 6.3% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 105,176 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $8,233,000 after buying an additional 6,198 shares during the period. 84.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Charles Schwab news, insider Paul V. Woolway sold 3,290 shares of Charles Schwab stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.95, for a total transaction of $299,225.50. Following the sale, the insider owned 35,864 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,261,830.80. The trade was a 8.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Jonathan S. Beatty sold 2,850 shares of Charles Schwab stock in a transaction on Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.57, for a total value of $249,574.50. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 15,219 shares in the company, valued at $1,332,727.83. The trade was a 15.77% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 304,726 shares of company stock worth $29,025,396 over the last ninety days. 6.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Charles Schwab Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of NYSE SCHW opened at $97.80 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $177.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.93. The Charles Schwab Corporation has a 12-month low of $61.15 and a 12-month high of $99.59. The company has a current ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $91.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $83.50.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW - Get Free Report) last announced 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 business had revenue of $5.85 billion for 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 revenue was up 24.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.73 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that The Charles Schwab Corporation will post 4.22 EPS for the current year.

Charles Schwab announced that its board has approved a share buyback program on Thursday, July 24th that permits the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire up to 11.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Charles Schwab Dividend Announcement

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 dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 8th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. Charles Schwab's payout ratio is presently 29.03%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on SCHW shares. William Blair downgraded Charles Schwab from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company set a $102.00 price objective on Charles Schwab and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Charles Schwab in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating and set a $99.00 price objective on shares of Charles Schwab in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Barclays raised 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Charles Schwab presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $99.35.

Charles Schwab 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.

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