The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW) Receives Average Recommendation of "Hold" from Analysts

The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW - Get Free Report) has been given an average rating of "Hold" by the seventeen research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have issued a hold recommendation and ten have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $86.33.

SCHW has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised Charles Schwab from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $89.00 to $93.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Redburn Partners cut their price objective on shares of Charles Schwab from $70.00 to $68.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on shares of Charles Schwab from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased 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, JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating and issued a $94.00 target price (up from $84.00) on shares of Charles Schwab in a report on Monday, December 9th.

Charles Schwab Trading Up 2.1 %

Shares of Charles Schwab stock traded up $1.68 during trading on Friday, hitting $80.07. 7,542,389 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,445,041. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.47 and a quick ratio of 0.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $145.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.98. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $78.99 and its 200 day moving average price is $74.87. Charles Schwab has a 1-year low of $61.01 and a 1-year high of $84.50.

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Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.11. Charles Schwab had a net margin of 30.31% and a return on equity of 18.20%. The company had revenue of $5.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.19 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.68 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 19.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Charles Schwab will post 4.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Charles Schwab Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This is a boost from Charles Schwab's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.35%. Charles Schwab's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.12%.

Insider Activity at Charles Schwab

In other Charles Schwab news, insider Paul V. Woolway sold 3,380 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.32, for a total transaction of $268,101.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 57,818 shares in the company, valued at $4,586,123.76. This represents a 5.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Arun Sarin sold 8,548 shares of Charles Schwab stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.82, for a total value of $699,397.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 18,617 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,523,242.94. The trade was a 31.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 501,087 shares of company stock worth $40,952,233. Company insiders own 6.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Charles Schwab

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Charles Schwab by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 128,578,230 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $9,516,075,000 after purchasing an additional 1,187,384 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in Charles Schwab by 0.7% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 62,076,447 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,023,175,000 after buying an additional 414,949 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Charles Schwab by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 30,901,484 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,279,742,000 after buying an additional 760,043 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in shares of Charles Schwab by 6.3% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 28,679,305 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,858,706,000 after acquiring an additional 1,711,312 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Charles Schwab by 15.0% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 24,261,234 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,644,674,000 after acquiring an additional 3,157,923 shares in the last quarter. 84.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.