The Charles Schwab Corporation $SCHW Stock Holdings Lessened by Argus Investors Counsel Inc.

Argus Investors Counsel Inc. lowered its stake in shares of The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE:SCHW) by 1.8% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 28,819 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 530 shares during the period. Charles Schwab makes up 1.9% of Argus Investors Counsel Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Argus Investors Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $2,629,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in Charles Schwab by 380.5% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 24,240 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,794,000 after purchasing an additional 19,195 shares in the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its position in shares of Charles Schwab by 12.0% during the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 6,076 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $476,000 after acquiring an additional 652 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in Charles Schwab by 171.1% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 4,154 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $325,000 after purchasing an additional 2,622 shares during the last quarter. Farmers Trust Co. acquired a new position in shares of Charles Schwab during the 1st quarter worth approximately $208,000. Finally, Quent Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Charles Schwab by 11.8% during the 1st quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 3,199 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $250,000 after purchasing an additional 337 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.38% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Redburn Atlantic raised Charles Schwab from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price target for the company from $65.00 to $82.00 in a report on Monday, June 9th. William Blair cut shares of Charles Schwab from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Charles Schwab from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Charles Schwab from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $102.00 price target on shares of Charles Schwab and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Charles Schwab presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $100.00.

Charles Schwab Stock Performance

Shares of Charles Schwab stock opened at $95.52 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The firm has a market cap of $173.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.96. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $95.55 and its 200-day moving average is $88.04. The Charles Schwab Corporation has a one year low of $62.41 and a one year high of $99.59.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) last posted its earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.04. Charles Schwab had a net margin of 33.68% and a return on equity of 19.30%. The firm had revenue of $5.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.64 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.73 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 24.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict 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 was paid on Friday, August 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 8th were paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 8th. Charles Schwab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.03%.

Charles Schwab declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, July 24th that authorizes the company to buyback $20.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to reacquire up to 11.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Nigel J. Murtagh sold 24,096 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the transaction, the insider owned 58,999 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,776,592.09. The trade was a 29.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Walter W. Bettinger sold 173,876 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.84, for a total value of $17,185,903.84. Following the transaction, the chairman directly owned 590,734 shares in the company, valued at $58,388,148.56. This trade represents a 22.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 267,213 shares of company stock worth $26,232,180. Corporate insiders own 6.30% of the company’s stock.

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.