Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. Acquires 47,575 Shares of The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE:SCHW)

Key Points

• Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. significantly increased its stake in The Charles Schwab Corporation by 94.2%, now holding 98,081 shares worth approximately $7.68 million.
• Recent analyst ratings for Charles Schwab show a consensus of 16 buy ratings and an average price target of $99.35, with several firms issuing increased target prices.
• The Charles Schwab Corporation announced a $20 billion share repurchase program and will pay a quarterly dividend of $0.27 on August 22nd, reflecting confidence in the company’s valuation.

Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. boosted its holdings in The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE:SCHW - Free Report) by 94.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 98,081 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 47,575 shares during the quarter. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc.'s holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $7,678,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Atwood & Palmer Inc. bought a new position in Charles Schwab in the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Charles Schwab by 75.0% during the 1st quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 350 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Charles Schwab during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $31,000. WFA Asset Management Corp bought a new position in shares of Charles Schwab during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Charles Schwab by 90.5% during the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 463 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. 84.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $99.00 target price on shares of Charles Schwab in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Charles Schwab from $117.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. JMP Securities increased their target price on Charles Schwab from $106.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Piper Sandler raised their price target on Charles Schwab from $80.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on Charles Schwab from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Charles Schwab has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $99.35.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, General Counsel Peter J. Morgan III sold 10,176 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.39, for a total transaction of $889,280.64. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Paul V. Woolway sold 10,129 shares of Charles Schwab stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.01, for a total transaction of $911,711.29. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 39,154 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,524,251.54. This trade represents a 20.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 308,016 shares of company stock valued at $29,341,433 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 6.30% of the company's stock.

Charles Schwab Stock Performance

Shares of Charles Schwab stock opened at $97.80 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $177.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.29, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The Charles Schwab Corporation has a 12 month low of $61.16 and a 12 month high of $99.59. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $92.93 and its 200-day moving average price is $84.79.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW - Get Free Report) last posted its 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 company had revenue of $5.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.64 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.73 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 24.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that The Charles Schwab Corporation will post 4.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Charles Schwab Announces Dividend

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

Charles Schwab announced that its board has approved a share repurchase 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 repurchase up to 11.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.