Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) Hits New 52-Week High on Analyst Upgrade

Shares of The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW) reached a new 52-week high during 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. The stock had previously closed at $81.87.

Several other brokerages have also commented on SCHW. Cowen raised their price target on Charles Schwab from $69.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Barclays boosted 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 restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $94.00 price objective (up from $84.00) on shares of Charles Schwab in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Redburn Partners decreased their target price on shares of Charles Schwab from $70.00 to $68.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Charles Schwab from $81.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $84.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Charles Schwab

In other Charles Schwab news, General Counsel Peter J. Morgan III sold 14,643 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.70, for a total transaction of $1,181,690.10. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Jonathan S. Beatty sold 2,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.01, for a total value of $188,623.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 18,069 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,481,838.69. The trade was a 11.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. Insiders own 6.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Charles Schwab

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in Charles Schwab during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Charles Schwab by 62.6% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Charles Schwab in the third quarter valued at $31,000. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC purchased a new stake in Charles Schwab during the 3rd quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Planning Capital Management Corp purchased a new position in shares of Charles Schwab in the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.38% of the company’s stock.

Charles Schwab Stock Down 0.5 %

The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $77.99 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $71.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a current ratio of 0.47. The firm has a market cap of $148.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.99.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.68 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that The Charles Schwab Co. will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Charles Schwab Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.30%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This is an increase from Charles Schwab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Charles Schwab’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.44%.

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.