The Charles Schwab Corporation $SCHW Shares Purchased by Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE:SCHW) by 12.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 346,701 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 38,393 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $31,633,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of SCHW. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in shares of 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 during the last quarter. RFG Advisory LLC raised its holdings in Charles Schwab by 11.3% in the 1st quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 10,952 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $857,000 after acquiring an additional 1,115 shares during the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. raised its holdings in Charles Schwab by 14.0% in the 1st quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 6,833 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $535,000 after acquiring an additional 841 shares during the last quarter. Vest Financial LLC raised its holdings in Charles Schwab by 73.5% in the 1st quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 14,845 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,162,000 after acquiring an additional 6,289 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Magnus Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Charles Schwab in the 1st quarter valued at $211,000. 84.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Charles Schwab Stock Up 1.5%

Shares of Charles Schwab stock opened at $94.13 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $95.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $88.57. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The Charles Schwab Corporation has a twelve month low of $64.07 and a twelve month high of $99.59. The stock has a market cap of $170.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.97.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.14 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $5.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.64 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.73 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 24.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that The Charles Schwab Corporation will post 4.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Charles Schwab Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 22nd. Investors 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 yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 8th. Charles Schwab’s dividend payout ratio is 29.03%.

Charles Schwab declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase 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 often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on SCHW shares. Wells Fargo & Company set a $102.00 price target on Charles Schwab and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded Charles Schwab from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $65.00 to $82.00 in a report on Monday, June 9th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on Charles Schwab in a report on Friday. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $110.00 price target for the company. Bank of America boosted their price target on Charles Schwab from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, JMP Securities boosted their price target on Charles Schwab from $106.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $100.52.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Nigel J. Murtagh sold 24,096 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.91, for a total transaction of $2,359,239.36. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 58,999 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,776,592.09. This represents a 29.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Walter W. Bettinger sold 173,876 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.84, for a total transaction of $17,185,903.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman directly owned 590,734 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $58,388,148.56. The trade was a 22.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 267,128 shares of company stock worth $26,232,077 in the last quarter. Insiders own 6.30% of the company’s stock.

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.