Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) Reaches New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

Shares of The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE:SCHW) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $111.40 and last traded at $111.2010, with a volume of 223375 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $111.09.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on SCHW. Wolfe Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $127.00 price objective on shares of Charles Schwab in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. UBS Group set a $135.00 target price on Charles Schwab in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Piper Sandler set a $118.00 price target on Charles Schwab in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Charles Schwab in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Charles Schwab in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $121.17.

Charles Schwab Stock Performance

The stock’s 50 day moving average is $99.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is $95.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $191.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.56 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $7.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.90 billion. Charles Schwab had a return on equity of 24.53% and a net margin of 38.79%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.14 EPS. Analysts expect that The Charles Schwab Corporation will post 6.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Charles Schwab Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Investors of record on Friday, August 14th will be given a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. Charles Schwab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.27%.

Insider Transactions at Charles Schwab

In other Charles Schwab news, insider Dennis Howard sold 28,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.01, for a total transaction of $2,940,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 10,470 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,099,454.70. This represents a 72.78% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, General Counsel Peter J. Morgan III sold 6,952 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.03, for a total transaction of $709,312.56. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders have sold 395,786 shares of company stock worth $41,346,459. Corporate insiders own 6.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Charles Schwab by 99.2% during the 4th quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 247 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. Compass Financial Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Charles Schwab in the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Charles Schwab in the first quarter valued at about $29,000. McIlrath & Eck LLC raised its holdings in Charles Schwab by 143.2% during the fourth quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 321 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 189 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Main Street Group LTD bought a new position in Charles Schwab in the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Institutional investors own 84.38% of the company’s stock.

Charles Schwab Company Profile

Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE: SCHW) is a diversified financial services firm that provides brokerage, banking, wealth management and advisory services to individual investors, independent investment advisors and institutional clients. Its primary offerings include retail brokerage accounts, online trading platforms, Schwab-branded mutual funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs), retirement plan services, custodial services for independent Registered Investment Advisors (RIAs), and banking products through Charles Schwab Bank.