Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) Research Coverage Started at StockNews.com

StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW – Get Rating) in a report released on Thursday morning. The firm issued a hold rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

SCHW has been the subject of several other research reports. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Charles Schwab from $74.00 to $60.00 in a research report on Monday, March 13th. William Blair reiterated an outperform rating on shares of Charles Schwab in a research report on Tuesday, January 17th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Charles Schwab from $90.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Monday, January 9th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Charles Schwab from $87.00 to $79.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Charles Schwab from $104.00 to $99.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $85.04.

Charles Schwab Stock Down 2.5 %

Shares of NYSE:SCHW opened at $56.41 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $101.06 billion, a PE ratio of 16.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a current ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. Charles Schwab has a twelve month low of $45.00 and a twelve month high of $93.16. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $76.48 and a 200-day simple moving average of $76.60.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.07 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.10 by ($0.03). Charles Schwab had a net margin of 34.60% and a return on equity of 24.94%. The business had revenue of $5.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.55 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.86 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Charles Schwab will post 4.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Charles Schwab Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 10th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 9th. This is a boost from Charles Schwab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.77%. Charles Schwab’s dividend payout ratio is 28.57%.

Insider Transactions at Charles Schwab

In related news, President Richard A. Wurster purchased 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 17th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $54.39 per share, with a total value of $108,780.00. Following the purchase, the president now directly owns 101,391 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,514,656.49. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, Chairman Charles R. Schwab sold 188,670 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.07, for a total value of $15,106,806.90. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 30,856,646 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,470,691,645.22. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, President Richard A. Wurster acquired 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 17th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $54.39 per share, for a total transaction of $108,780.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the president now owns 101,391 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,514,656.49. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have purchased 71,000 shares of company stock valued at $4,165,460 and have sold 728,106 shares valued at $58,067,403. Corporate insiders own 7.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Charles Schwab

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Toronto Dominion Bank grew its stake in Charles Schwab by 32,224.4% in the 4th quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 225,994,826 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $18,816,289,000 after acquiring an additional 225,295,680 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Charles Schwab by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 124,437,061 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,943,291,000 after purchasing an additional 2,589,952 shares in the last quarter. Dodge & Cox lifted its holdings in Charles Schwab by 9.4% in the 2nd quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 79,042,463 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,993,903,000 after purchasing an additional 6,803,282 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Charles Schwab by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 65,566,364 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,712,255,000 after purchasing an additional 717,683 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in Charles Schwab by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 33,417,491 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,111,317,000 after purchasing an additional 851,066 shares in the last quarter. 73.49% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Charles Schwab Company Profile

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The Charles Schwab Corp. is a savings and loan holding company, which engages in the provision of wealth management, securities brokerage, banking, asset management, custody, and financial advisory services. It operates through the Investor Services and Advisor Services segments. The Investor Services segment includes retail brokerage and banking services to individual investors, and retirement plan services, as well as other corporate brokerage services, to businesses and their employees.