Morgan Stanley Boosts Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) Price Target to $84.00

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) had its price objective raised by equities research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $74.00 to $84.00 in a report released on Friday. The firm presently has an “equal weight” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 9.76% from the company’s previous close.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Barclays raised Charles Schwab from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $74.00 to $95.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Charles Schwab from $87.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $94.00 price target (up from $84.00) on shares of Charles Schwab in a research note on Monday, December 9th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Charles Schwab from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Charles Schwab from $81.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $81.41.

Charles Schwab Stock Performance

NYSE:SCHW opened at $76.53 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $136.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a current ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. Charles Schwab has a 1 year low of $61.01 and a 1 year high of $83.35. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $77.68 and a 200-day moving average of $70.65.

Insider Activity at Charles Schwab

In other Charles Schwab news, insider Nigel J. Murtagh sold 12,739 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.17, for a total value of $1,034,024.63. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 59,092 shares in the company, valued at $4,796,497.64. This represents a 17.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Jonathan S. Beatty sold 2,300 shares of Charles Schwab stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.01, for a total value of $188,623.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 18,069 shares in the company, valued at $1,481,838.69. This trade represents a 11.29 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 26,823 shares of company stock worth $2,171,194 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 6.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Charles Schwab

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Charles Schwab by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 62,076,447 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,023,175,000 after acquiring an additional 414,949 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Charles Schwab by 1.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 30,141,441 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,945,614,000 after purchasing an additional 445,304 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in Charles Schwab by 6.3% in 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 purchasing an additional 1,711,312 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in Charles Schwab by 15.0% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 24,261,234 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,644,674,000 after buying an additional 3,157,923 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Charles Schwab by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 20,189,558 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,308,485,000 after buying an additional 493,264 shares in the last quarter. 84.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Charles Schwab

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.