Stock Traders Buy Large Volume of Call Options on Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW)

The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Thursday. Investors acquired 32,045 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 46% compared to the average volume of 22,009 call options.

Charles Schwab Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE:SCHW opened at $73.56 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $130.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a quick ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The company has a fifty day moving average of $74.40 and a 200 day moving average of $69.68. Charles Schwab has a 52 week low of $48.66 and a 52 week high of $79.49.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $4.74 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.71 billion. Charles Schwab had a net margin of 26.14% and a return on equity of 19.25%. On average, research analysts predict that Charles Schwab will post 3.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Charles Schwab Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 24th. Investors of record on Friday, May 10th were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 9th. Charles Schwab’s payout ratio is 41.84%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Bernard J. Clark sold 77,431 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.94, for a total transaction of $5,492,955.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 121,666 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,630,986.04. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, CFO Peter B. Crawford sold 5,481 shares of Charles Schwab stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.51, for a total transaction of $413,870.31. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 60,567 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,573,414.17. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bernard J. Clark sold 77,431 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.94, for a total value of $5,492,955.14. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 121,666 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,630,986.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 658,663 shares of company stock worth $48,997,146 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 6.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its position in Charles Schwab by 65.3% during the 3rd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 19,006 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,042,000 after buying an additional 7,505 shares in the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Charles Schwab by 34.9% in the 3rd quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 47,161 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,589,000 after purchasing an additional 12,197 shares during the last quarter. MQS Management LLC bought a new position in Charles Schwab in the 3rd quarter worth about $214,000. Synovus Financial Corp grew its position in Charles Schwab by 9.5% during the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 53,529 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,939,000 after purchasing an additional 4,641 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd bought a new stake in Charles Schwab during the 3rd quarter valued at about $17,261,000. 84.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on SCHW. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Charles Schwab from $89.00 to $81.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Bank of America lifted their price target on Charles Schwab from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Barclays increased their price objective on Charles Schwab from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Charles Schwab from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Charles Schwab from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Charles Schwab presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $75.56.

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.