Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) Sets New 1-Year High Following Analyst Upgrade

The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday after Morgan Stanley raised their price target on the stock from $84.00 to $91.00. Morgan Stanley currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. Charles Schwab traded as high as $83.94 and last traded at $83.71, with a volume of 3540125 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $81.87.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on SCHW. Barclays increased their target price on Charles Schwab from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $94.00 price target (up previously from $84.00) on shares of Charles Schwab in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Charles Schwab from $63.00 to $61.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Charles Schwab from $87.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on shares of Charles Schwab from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $84.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Charles Schwab

In other Charles Schwab news, insider Jonathan S. Beatty sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.02, for a total transaction of $192,550.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 18,069 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,391,674.38. This trade represents a 12.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Peter J. Morgan III sold 14,643 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.70, for a total value of $1,181,690.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 50,014 shares of company stock worth $4,052,281 over the last three months. Insiders own 6.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Charles Schwab

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. grew its position in Charles Schwab by 62.6% during the 3rd quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 387 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in Charles Schwab in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Charles Schwab during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC acquired a new stake in Charles Schwab during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Charles Schwab in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 84.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Charles Schwab Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $77.97 and a 200-day moving average price of $71.57. The firm has a market cap of $148.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.99.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $5.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.19 billion. Charles Schwab had a net margin of 30.31% and a return on equity of 18.20%. Charles Schwab’s revenue was up 19.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.68 EPS. On average, analysts expect that The Charles Schwab Co. will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Charles Schwab Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.29%. This is an increase from Charles Schwab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Charles Schwab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.12%.

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.