Banque Pictet & Cie SA Sells 1,297 Shares of The Charles Schwab Corporation $SCHW

Banque Pictet & Cie SA cut its stake in The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE:SCHW) by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 143,207 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,297 shares during the period. Banque Pictet & Cie SA’s holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $13,066,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Atwood & Palmer Inc. bought a new position in Charles Schwab during the first quarter worth $25,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Charles Schwab by 75.0% during the 1st quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 350 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the period. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of Charles Schwab by 97.9% in 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 in the last quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Charles Schwab in the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Activest Wealth Management grew 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 purchasing an additional 399 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.38% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Chairman Walter W. Bettinger sold 173,876 shares of Charles Schwab stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.84, for a total transaction of $17,185,903.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman owned 590,734 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $58,388,148.56. This trade represents a 22.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Jonathan S. Beatty sold 6,144 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.81, for a total transaction of $594,800.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 11,923 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,154,265.63. This trade represents a 34.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 267,213 shares of company stock worth $26,232,180 over the last quarter. Insiders own 6.30% of the company’s stock.

Charles Schwab Stock Up 2.6%

Charles Schwab stock opened at $94.75 on Friday. The Charles Schwab Corporation has a twelve month low of $62.41 and a twelve month high of $99.59. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $95.55 and a 200-day moving average price of $87.79. The company has a market capitalization of $171.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.47, a P/E/G ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.96.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $5.85 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.64 billion. Charles Schwab had a return on equity of 19.30% 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 company earned $0.73 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that The Charles Schwab Corporation will post 4.22 EPS for the current year.

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

Charles Schwab Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, August 8th were paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 8th. Charles Schwab’s payout ratio is presently 29.03%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $99.00 price objective on shares of Charles Schwab in a research report on Friday, July 18th. JMP Securities boosted their price objective on Charles Schwab from $106.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Charles Schwab from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Charles Schwab from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Finally, William Blair cut Charles Schwab from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $100.00.

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.