Woodline Partners LP Purchases 54,196 Shares of The Charles Schwab Corporation $SCHW

Key Points

• Woodline Partners LP has increased its stake in The Charles Schwab Corporation by 60.4%, owning 143,972 shares valued at approximately $11.27 million after acquiring an additional 54,196 shares.
• Insiders have sold a total of 298,214 shares valued at around $29 million in recent months, leading to a notable decrease in their ownership percentage.
• The Charles Schwab Corporation reported an EPS of $1.14 for its latest quarter, exceeding expectations, and has initiated a $20 billion share buyback program signaling confidence in its stock value.

Woodline Partners LP increased its position in shares of The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE:SCHW - Free Report) by 60.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 143,972 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 54,196 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP's holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $11,270,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of SCHW. Atwood & Palmer Inc. bought a new position in Charles Schwab during the first quarter worth $25,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Charles Schwab by 75.0% during the first quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 350 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Charles Schwab during the first quarter worth $31,000. Activest Wealth Management raised its stake in Charles Schwab by 6,650.0% during the first quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 405 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 399 shares during the last quarter. Finally, WFA Asset Management Corp bought a new position in Charles Schwab during the first quarter worth $33,000. Institutional investors own 84.38% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Charles Schwab news, insider Paul V. Woolway sold 10,129 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.01, for a total value of $911,711.29. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 39,154 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,524,251.54. This represents a 20.55% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Nigel J. Murtagh sold 24,096 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.91, for a total transaction of $2,359,239.36. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 58,999 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,776,592.09. The trade was a 29.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 298,214 shares of company stock valued at $29,022,580. 6.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Charles Schwab Stock Up 1.8%

Shares of NYSE SCHW opened at $93.90 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $170.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.24, a P/E/G ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $95.36 and a 200-day moving average price of $86.66. The Charles Schwab Corporation has a 1 year low of $61.16 and a 1 year high of $99.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.55.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $5.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.64 billion. Charles Schwab had a net margin of 33.68% and a return on equity of 19.30%. The business's revenue was up 24.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.73 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that The Charles Schwab Corporation will post 4.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Charles Schwab Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 8th were issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 8th. Charles Schwab's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.03%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on SCHW shares. Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Charles Schwab in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Charles Schwab from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Charles Schwab from $102.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Charles Schwab from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $65.00 to $82.00 in a report on Monday, June 9th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Charles Schwab from $107.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 15th. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Charles Schwab has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $99.60.

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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