Empire Financial Management Company LLC Purchases Shares of 5,000 The Charles Schwab Corporation $SCHW

Empire Financial Management Company LLC purchased a new position in shares of The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE:SCHW) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 5,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $470,000.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Charles Schwab by 99.2% in the fourth quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 247 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank purchased a new position in Charles Schwab during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Optima Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Charles Schwab in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Charles Schwab in the 1st quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, McIlrath & Eck LLC grew its holdings in Charles Schwab by 143.2% in the 4th quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 321 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 189 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.38% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Charles Schwab

Here are the key news stories impacting Charles Schwab this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Planned $20 billion share repurchase: Charles Schwab reportedly plans to buy back $20 billion of its stock, a substantial capital-allocation commitment that could reduce shares outstanding, support earnings per share and signal management’s confidence in the company’s valuation and cash-generation outlook. Charles Schwab to buy back $20 billion of stock
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts continue to favor SCHW as a growth stock: Charles Schwab was included among analysts’ preferred growth names, reflecting confidence in demand trends and longer-term catalysts. The view is consistent with the company’s latest quarterly performance, which included earnings and revenue above consensus and 20.9% year-over-year revenue growth. Best Growth Stocks to Buy This Week
• Positive Sentiment: Retail investor sentiment is improving: Schwab executive James Kostulias said bullishness among retail traders is rising. Greater investor participation and trading activity could support Schwab’s brokerage-related revenue and asset-gathering trends. Charles Schwab executive discusses rising retail bullishness
• Positive Sentiment: Potential cryptocurrency-regulation tailwind: Schwab reportedly backed the CLARITY Act ahead of an August deadline. Clearer digital-asset rules could help established financial firms expand crypto-related products and services, although the legislation remains subject to the legislative process. Charles Schwab backs the CLARITY Act
• Neutral Sentiment: Commentary highlighting “three big reasons” to favor SCHW and a report on billionaire investor Andreas Halvorsen’s holdings add to positive market attention, but these opinions are not new company fundamentals or formal analyst actions. Three big reasons to favor Charles Schwab Andreas Halvorsen’s top picks
• Negative Sentiment: Several insiders sold shares, including General Counsel Peter J. Morgan III and executives Jonathan S. Beatty and Nigel J. Murtagh. The transactions were made under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans, reducing their significance as a bearish signal, but they may still create limited investor caution.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SCHW has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Zacks Research raised shares of Charles Schwab from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Wolfe Research reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $127.00 target price on shares of Charles Schwab in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating on shares of Charles Schwab in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Charles Schwab from $128.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets downgraded shares of Charles Schwab from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $105.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Monday, July 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $119.94.

Insider Buying and Selling at Charles Schwab

In other news, General Counsel Peter J. Morgan III sold 6,952 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.03, for a total value of $709,312.56. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Nigel J. Murtagh sold 4,053 shares of Charles Schwab stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.14, for a total transaction of $422,079.42. Following the transaction, the insider owned 57,972 shares in the company, valued at $6,037,204.08. The trade was a 6.53% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 17,005 shares of company stock valued at $1,733,892 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 6.30% of the company’s stock.

Charles Schwab Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SCHW opened at $106.17 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $184.65 billion, a PE ratio of 19.30, a P/E/G ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.62 and a quick ratio of 0.62. The business has a 50-day moving average of $94.46 and a two-hundred day moving average of $95.37. The Charles Schwab Corporation has a 12 month low of $83.96 and a 12 month high of $107.50.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.62 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.56 by $0.06. Charles Schwab had a return on equity of 24.73% and a net margin of 38.79%.The company had revenue of $7.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.90 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.14 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 20.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that The Charles Schwab Corporation will post 6.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Charles Schwab Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. Charles Schwab’s payout ratio is 23.27%.

Charles Schwab Company Profile

Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE: SCHW) is a diversified financial services firm that provides brokerage, banking, wealth management and advisory services to individual investors, independent investment advisors and institutional clients. Its primary offerings include retail brokerage accounts, online trading platforms, Schwab-branded mutual funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs), retirement plan services, custodial services for independent Registered Investment Advisors (RIAs), and banking products through Charles Schwab Bank.