Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) Hits New 52-Week High Following Analyst Upgrade

The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW) shares reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday after TD Securities raised their price target on the stock from $95.00 to $113.00. TD Securities currently has a buy rating on the stock. Charles Schwab traded as high as $89.39 and last traded at $89.16, with a volume of 6794662 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $88.69.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on SCHW. Citigroup raised shares of Charles Schwab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $85.00 to $102.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Charles Schwab from $76.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $94.00 target price on shares of Charles Schwab in a research report on Monday, April 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Charles Schwab from $92.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on Charles Schwab from $96.00 to $84.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $89.63.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Jonathan M. Craig sold 9,559 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.00, for a total transaction of $783,838.00. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Paul V. Woolway sold 9,887 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.38, for a total value of $745,282.06. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 47,931 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,613,038.78. This represents a 17.10% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 38,412 shares of company stock worth $3,014,797 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 6.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Charles Schwab

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Atwood & Palmer Inc. bought a new position in shares of Charles Schwab in the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Charles Schwab by 75.0% during the first quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 350 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the period. Stone House Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Charles Schwab in the first quarter worth about $31,000. Activest Wealth Management boosted its position in Charles Schwab by 6,650.0% during the 1st quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 405 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 399 shares during the period. Finally, WFA Asset Management Corp acquired a new stake in Charles Schwab in the first quarter worth $33,000. 84.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Charles Schwab Trading Down 1.8%

The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $79.58 and its 200-day moving average price is $78.73. The company has a market cap of $159.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.29, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.47 and a quick ratio of 0.47.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.03. Charles Schwab had a return on equity of 18.20% and a net margin of 30.31%. The business had revenue of $5.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.46 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.74 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that The Charles Schwab Co. will post 4.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Charles Schwab Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th will be given a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.23%. Charles Schwab’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.73%.

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.