Bellwether Advisors LLC Buys 23,352 Shares of The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE:SCHW)

Bellwether Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE:SCHW) by 489.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 28,122 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 23,352 shares during the quarter. Bellwether Advisors LLC’s holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $2,201,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. HM Payson & Co. grew its stake in Charles Schwab by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 19,271 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,509,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Charles Schwab by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,551 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $513,000 after acquiring an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. Journey Strategic Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Charles Schwab by 3.1% during the first quarter. Journey Strategic Wealth LLC now owns 4,486 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $351,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares during the period. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Charles Schwab by 1.8% in the first quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC now owns 7,817 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $612,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sutton Place Investors LLC increased its stake in shares of Charles Schwab by 1.6% in the first quarter. Sutton Place Investors LLC now owns 8,677 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $679,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.38% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Charles Schwab

In other news, insider Paul V. Woolway sold 3,290 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.95, for a total value of $299,225.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 35,864 shares in the company, valued at $3,261,830.80. This represents a 8.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Nigel J. Murtagh sold 20,872 shares of Charles Schwab stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.01, for a total value of $1,878,688.72. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 58,999 shares in the company, valued at $5,310,499.99. This represents a 26.13% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 116,313 shares of company stock valued at $10,264,091. Corporate insiders own 6.30% of the company’s stock.

Charles Schwab Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of NYSE SCHW opened at $97.05 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $176.33 billion, a PE ratio of 26.09, a PEG ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.93. 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 has a fifty day moving average of $90.34 and a two-hundred day moving average of $82.88. The Charles Schwab Corporation has a 52-week low of $61.15 and a 52-week high of $98.28.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $5.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.64 billion. Charles Schwab had a net margin of 33.68% and a return on equity of 19.73%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.73 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that The Charles Schwab Corporation will post 4.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Charles Schwab announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, July 24th that allows the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to repurchase 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 firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 8th. Charles Schwab’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.03%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on SCHW shares. JMP Securities raised their target price on Charles Schwab from $106.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. William Blair downgraded shares of Charles Schwab from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Charles Schwab from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $117.00 target price (up from $83.00) on shares of Charles Schwab in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $98.65.

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.