Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) Sets New 52-Week High Following Dividend Announcement

Shares of The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday following a dividend announcement from the company. The company traded as high as $83.84 and last traded at $83.52, with a volume of 4012060 shares. The stock had previously closed at $82.06.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.29%. This is a positive change from Charles Schwab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Charles Schwab’s payout ratio is 33.44%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Charles Schwab from $67.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Charles Schwab from $84.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on Charles Schwab from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Citigroup upped their price target on Charles Schwab from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $90.00 price target (up previously from $86.00) on shares of Charles Schwab in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $84.11.

Charles Schwab Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $148.76 billion, a PE ratio of 27.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.99. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $77.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $71.00.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.11. Charles Schwab had a return on equity of 18.20% and a net margin of 30.31%. The firm had revenue of $5.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.19 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.68 EPS. Charles Schwab’s revenue was up 19.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that The Charles Schwab Co. will post 4.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Arun Sarin sold 8,548 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.82, for a total value of $699,397.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 18,617 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,523,242.94. This trade represents a 31.47 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Peter J. Morgan III sold 14,643 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.70, for a total transaction of $1,181,690.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 50,014 shares of company stock worth $4,052,281. Corporate insiders own 6.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Charles Schwab

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SCHW. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of Charles Schwab by 15.0% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 24,261,234 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,644,674,000 after acquiring an additional 3,157,923 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in Charles Schwab by 6.3% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 28,679,305 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,858,706,000 after buying an additional 1,711,312 shares during the period. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd increased its holdings in Charles Schwab by 2,617.6% during the third quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 1,707,771 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $110,681,000 after buying an additional 1,644,931 shares during the period. KBC Group NV increased its holdings in Charles Schwab by 186.7% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,138,033 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $158,236,000 after buying an additional 1,392,255 shares during the period. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP purchased a new position in Charles Schwab during the third quarter valued at approximately $86,845,000. Institutional investors own 84.38% 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.