Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) Hits New 1-Year High Following Dividend Announcement

The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW - Get Free Report) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday following a dividend announcement from the company. The stock traded as high as $83.84 and last traded at $83.52, with a volume of 4012060 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $82.06.The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. This is an increase from Charles Schwab's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.29%. Charles Schwab's dividend payout ratio is presently 33.44%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SCHW has been the subject of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Charles Schwab from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Charles Schwab from $81.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Charles Schwab from $74.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Redburn Partners decreased their price target on shares of Charles Schwab from $70.00 to $68.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Charles Schwab from $84.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $84.11.

Charles Schwab Trading Up 1.7 %

The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $77.89 and a 200-day simple moving average of $71.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The stock has a market cap of $148.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.99.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.11. Charles Schwab had a return on equity of 18.20% and a net margin of 30.31%. The company had revenue of $5.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.19 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.68 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 19.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that The Charles Schwab Co. will post 4.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Charles Schwab

In related news, insider Jonathan S. Beatty sold 2,300 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.01, for a total value of $188,623.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 18,069 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,481,838.69. The trade was a 11.29 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Christopher V. Dodds sold 9,284 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.43, for a total value of $755,996.12. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 442,807 shares of the company's stock, valued at $36,057,774.01. The trade was a 2.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 50,014 shares of company stock valued at $4,052,281 in the last 90 days. 6.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Hickory Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Charles Schwab during the fourth quarter worth $1,301,000. Manchester Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Charles Schwab by 59.5% during the fourth quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 2,753 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $204,000 after acquiring an additional 1,027 shares in the last quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in Charles Schwab by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 38,565 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,854,000 after acquiring an additional 303 shares in the last quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd raised its stake in Charles Schwab by 11.6% during the fourth quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 1,905,316 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $141,012,000 after acquiring an additional 197,545 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kanawha Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Charles Schwab during the fourth quarter worth $934,000. 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.

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