Ledyard National Bank Grows Stock Position in The Charles Schwab Corporation $SCHW

Ledyard National Bank grew its position in The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE:SCHW) by 23.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,416 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,038 shares during the quarter. Ledyard National Bank’s holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $494,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in SCHW. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Charles Schwab by 15.4% in 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 in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Charles Schwab by 595.7% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 15,488,777 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,212,461,000 after buying an additional 13,262,309 shares in the last quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA lifted its position in Charles Schwab by 229.3% during the first quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 14,002,078 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,096,083,000 after buying an additional 9,749,728 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted 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 worth $6,422,795,000 after buying an additional 8,954,248 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Charles Schwab during the first quarter worth approximately $440,699,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.38% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Paul V. Woolway sold 3,205 shares of Charles Schwab stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.33, for a total value of $299,122.65. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 34,778 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,245,830.74. The trade was a 8.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jonathan S. Beatty sold 6,144 shares of Charles Schwab stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.81, for a total value of $594,800.64. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 11,923 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,154,265.63. The trade was a 34.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 65,866 shares of company stock valued at $6,370,897. 6.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Charles Schwab Price Performance

NYSE:SCHW opened at $94.34 on Friday. The Charles Schwab Corporation has a 52 week low of $65.88 and a 52 week 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 company has a market capitalization of $171.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.09, a P/E/G ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.97. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $94.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $91.02.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.06. Charles Schwab had a return on equity of 21.26% and a net margin of 35.93%.The company had revenue of $6.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.93 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.71 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 26.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that The Charles Schwab Corporation will post 4.22 EPS for the current year.

Charles Schwab announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Charles Schwab Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 14th will be paid a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 14th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Charles Schwab’s payout ratio is presently 25.29%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented 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. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Charles Schwab from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Charles Schwab to $130.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Charles Schwab in a research report on Friday, October 17th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on Charles Schwab in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $110.00 price objective on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $106.00.

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.