The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE:SCHW) Receives $106.00 Consensus PT from Brokerages

The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE:SCHW) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty-four research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $106.45.

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Barclays upped their target price on Charles Schwab from $114.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 17th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Charles Schwab from $130.00 to $139.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of Charles Schwab from $119.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 17th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Charles Schwab from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Charles Schwab from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd.

Charles Schwab Stock Up 1.2%

SCHW opened at $95.33 on Friday. Charles Schwab has a 1 year low of $65.88 and a 1 year high of $99.59. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $94.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $91.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.55. The company has a market cap of $173.05 billion, a PE ratio of 22.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.02.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.06. Charles Schwab had a net margin of 35.93% and a return on equity of 21.26%. The company had revenue of $6.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.93 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.71 earnings per share. Charles Schwab’s revenue for the quarter was up 26.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Charles Schwab will post 4.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Charles Schwab declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Thursday, July 24th that allows the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to reacquire up to 11.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Charles Schwab Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 28th. Investors of record on Friday, November 14th will be issued a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 14th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. Charles Schwab’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Charles Schwab

In other Charles Schwab news, insider Paul V. Woolway sold 3,205 shares of Charles Schwab stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.33, for a total transaction of $299,122.65. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 34,778 shares in the company, valued at $3,245,830.74. The trade was a 8.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Peter J. Morgan III sold 50,016 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.00, for a total transaction of $4,851,552.00. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 65,866 shares of company stock worth $6,370,897 in the last 90 days. 6.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Charles Schwab

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Charles Schwab in the second quarter worth $25,000. RMG Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Charles Schwab during the second quarter worth about $27,000. West Branch Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Charles Schwab in the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in Charles Schwab by 97.9% in the 1st quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 386 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stone House Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Charles Schwab during the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000. 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.