Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Boosts Stake in The Charles Schwab Corporation $SCHW

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE:SCHW) by 0.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 330,159 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,999 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $30,124,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Charles Schwab by 15.4% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 148,395,252 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $11,616,380,000 after acquiring an additional 19,817,022 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in Charles Schwab by 12.3% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 82,048,984 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,422,795,000 after acquiring an additional 8,954,248 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of Charles Schwab by 10.8% in the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 17,440,301 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,365,227,000 after buying an additional 1,700,384 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its position in shares of Charles Schwab by 16.0% in the first quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 17,115,759 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,339,822,000 after buying an additional 2,355,309 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Charles Schwab by 5.0% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 15,586,450 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,220,107,000 after buying an additional 743,906 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.38% of the company’s stock.

Charles Schwab Trading Down 2.1%

Shares of NYSE SCHW opened at $92.08 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $94.97 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $89.19. The Charles Schwab Corporation has a 52-week low of $65.88 and a 52-week high of $99.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $167.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.75, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.04. Charles Schwab had a return on equity of 19.30% and a net margin of 33.68%.The firm had revenue of $5.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.64 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.73 earnings per share. Charles Schwab’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 8th were given 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 is presently 29.03%.

Charles Schwab declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, July 24th that permits the company to buyback $20.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase up to 11.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. William Blair downgraded Charles Schwab from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Charles Schwab from $102.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on Charles Schwab in a report on Friday, October 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $110.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Charles Schwab to $130.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Finally, Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $114.00 price target on shares of Charles Schwab in a report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $100.57.

Insider Buying and Selling at Charles Schwab

In other news, insider Jonathan S. Beatty sold 6,144 shares of the 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 sale, the insider directly owned 11,923 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,154,265.63. This represents a 34.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Peter J. Morgan III sold 50,016 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.00, for a total value of $4,851,552.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 267,128 shares of company stock worth $26,232,077. 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.