Brokerages Set The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW) Target Price at $86.33

Shares of The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW) have earned an average rating of “Hold” from the seventeen research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $86.33.

SCHW has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Redburn Partners reduced their price objective on shares of Charles Schwab from $70.00 to $68.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Charles Schwab from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Citigroup raised their target price on Charles Schwab from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Charles Schwab from $87.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, TD Cowen raised Charles Schwab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $88.00 to $103.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 18th.

Insider Activity at Charles Schwab

In other news, insider Paul V. Woolway sold 9,887 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.38, for a total value of $745,282.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 47,931 shares in the company, valued at $3,613,038.78. This trade represents a 17.10 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Chairman Walter W. Bettinger sold 464,629 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.91, for a total value of $38,057,761.39. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 827,377 shares in the company, valued at $67,770,450.07. The trade was a 35.96 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 509,701 shares of company stock valued at $41,641,353. 6.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Charles Schwab

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SCHW. Merit Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Charles Schwab by 230.1% in the 4th quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 33,546 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,483,000 after purchasing an additional 23,383 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its stake in Charles Schwab by 2,840.7% in the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 6,146 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $398,000 after acquiring an additional 5,937 shares during the period. Synovus Financial Corp lifted its holdings in Charles Schwab by 46.0% during the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 67,889 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,400,000 after purchasing an additional 21,377 shares during the last quarter. Oregon Pacific Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Charles Schwab in the fourth quarter valued at $688,000. Finally, Golden State Equity Partners raised its position in shares of Charles Schwab by 293.9% in the fourth quarter. Golden State Equity Partners now owns 12,207 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $903,000 after purchasing an additional 9,108 shares during the period. 84.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Charles Schwab Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of SCHW opened at $79.63 on Friday. 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 company has a 50-day simple moving average of $79.52 and a 200-day simple moving average of $75.17. Charles Schwab has a 52 week low of $61.01 and a 52 week high of $84.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $144.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.63, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.98.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $5.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.19 billion. Charles Schwab had a return on equity of 18.20% and a net margin of 30.31%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.68 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Charles Schwab will post 4.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Charles Schwab Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.36%. This is a positive change from Charles Schwab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Charles Schwab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.12%.

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.