Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) Trading Down 1% Following Insider Selling

Shares of The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW) dropped 1% on Thursday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $74.00 and last traded at $74.43. Approximately 1,174,740 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 85% from the average daily volume of 7,692,344 shares. The stock had previously closed at $75.19.

Specifically, General Counsel Peter J. Morgan III sold 24,520 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.23, for a total value of $1,771,079.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Charles Schwab news, CFO Peter B. Crawford sold 8,000 shares of Charles Schwab stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.76, for a total transaction of $518,080.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 29,611 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,917,608.36. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Peter J. Morgan III sold 24,520 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.23, for a total transaction of $1,771,079.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 394,648 shares of company stock valued at $27,400,905. 6.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Charles Schwab from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Barclays lifted their price target on Charles Schwab from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Charles Schwab from $65.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. StockNews.com upgraded Charles Schwab from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Finally, JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $80.00 price target on shares of Charles Schwab in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Charles Schwab currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $74.47.

Charles Schwab Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $133.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a current ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The company’s fifty day moving average is $69.68 and its 200 day moving average is $63.84.

Charles Schwab Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 9th. Charles Schwab’s payout ratio is currently 41.84%.

Institutional Trading of Charles Schwab

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Sweet Financial Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Charles Schwab by 3.5% during the first quarter. Sweet Financial Partners LLC now owns 4,430 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $320,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the period. Ironwood Financial llc increased its holdings in shares of Charles Schwab by 1.6% in the first quarter. Ironwood Financial llc now owns 10,186 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $737,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares during the period. Courier Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Charles Schwab by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Courier Capital LLC now owns 45,539 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,133,000 after buying an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Charles Schwab by 60.0% during the fourth quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC now owns 440 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 165 shares during the period. Finally, Sculati Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Charles Schwab by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Sculati Wealth Management LLC now owns 42,971 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,956,000 after buying an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. 84.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.