Fruth Investment Management Trims Stock Position in The Charles Schwab Corporation $SCHW

Fruth Investment Management cut its position in shares of The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE:SCHW) by 2.0% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 14,456 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 300 shares during the quarter. Fruth Investment Management’s holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $1,131,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. First Hawaiian Bank increased its position in shares of Charles Schwab by 5.2% during the first quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 104,185 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,156,000 after acquiring an additional 5,135 shares during the last quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Charles Schwab by 97.9% during the first quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 386 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. Anson Funds Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Charles Schwab during the first quarter valued at about $783,000. Strs Ohio acquired a new stake in shares of Charles Schwab during the first quarter valued at about $75,720,000. Finally, Advisors Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Charles Schwab by 15.9% during the first quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 134,787 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,551,000 after acquiring an additional 18,451 shares during the last quarter. 84.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman Walter W. Bettinger sold 173,876 shares of Charles Schwab stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chairman owned 590,734 shares in the company, valued at $58,388,148.56. The trade was a 22.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Nigel J. Murtagh sold 24,096 shares of Charles Schwab stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.91, for a total transaction of $2,359,239.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 58,999 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,776,592.09. This represents a 29.00% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 298,214 shares of company stock valued at $29,022,580 over the last ninety days. 6.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Charles Schwab Trading Up 1.8%

Shares of SCHW stock opened at $93.90 on Friday. The Charles Schwab Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $61.16 and a fifty-two week high of $99.59. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $95.36 and a 200 day moving average price of $86.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $170.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.96.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.04. Charles Schwab had a net margin of 33.68% and a return on equity of 19.30%. The company had revenue of $5.85 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.64 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.73 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 24.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that The Charles Schwab Corporation will post 4.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Charles Schwab declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Thursday, July 24th that permits the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire up to 11.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Charles Schwab Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, August 8th were paid a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 8th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. Charles Schwab’s payout ratio is currently 29.03%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Charles Schwab from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Wells Fargo & Company set a $102.00 price target on shares of Charles Schwab and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Charles Schwab in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. TD Securities lifted their price objective on shares of Charles Schwab from $95.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Charles Schwab from $102.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $99.60.

Charles Schwab Company Profile

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.