The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE:SCHW) Insider Sells $2,359,239.36 in Stock

Key Points

• Charles Schwab insider Nigel J. Murtagh sold 24,096 shares for $2,359,239.36, reducing his ownership by 29% to 58,999 shares.
• The company has approved a $20 billion stock repurchase plan, allowing it to buy back up to 11.6% of its shares, indicating management's belief that its stock is currently undervalued.
• Charles Schwab reported a 24.8% revenue increase year-over-year, with quarterly earnings per share of $1.14, surpassing analysts' expectations of $1.10.

The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE:SCHW - Get Free Report) insider Nigel J. Murtagh sold 24,096 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 58,999 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,776,592.09. This represents a 29.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Charles Schwab Stock Performance

NYSE SCHW traded down $0.77 during trading on Thursday, reaching $97.80. The company's stock had a trading volume of 7,163,821 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,198,701. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $90.91 and a 200 day moving average price of $83.33. The Charles Schwab Corporation has a 12 month low of $61.15 and a 12 month high of $99.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $177.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a current ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 firm's quarterly revenue was up 24.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.73 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that The Charles Schwab Corporation will post 4.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Charles Schwab declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Charles Schwab Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 8th. Charles Schwab's dividend payout ratio is presently 29.03%.

Institutional Trading of Charles Schwab

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in SCHW. Atwood & Palmer Inc. acquired a new position in Charles Schwab during the first quarter worth about $25,000. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Charles Schwab during the second quarter worth $25,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. RMG Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Charles Schwab during the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Charles Schwab by 97.9% during the 1st quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 386 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.38% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Charles Schwab from $92.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Charles Schwab from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Charles Schwab from $117.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday. TD Securities lifted their target price on Charles Schwab from $95.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Charles Schwab in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Charles Schwab has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $99.35.

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.

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