Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) Now Covered by Analysts at BMO Capital Markets

BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) in a research report released on Friday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm issued an outperform rating and a $110.00 price objective on the financial services provider’s stock.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $99.00 target price on shares of Charles Schwab in a research report on Friday, July 18th. JMP Securities upped their target price on Charles Schwab from $106.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Bank of America increased their price objective on Charles Schwab from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Charles Schwab from $80.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Charles Schwab to $130.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $100.52.

Charles Schwab Stock Up 1.5%

Shares of NYSE SCHW opened at $94.13 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $170.87 billion, a PE ratio of 25.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. Charles Schwab has a 52-week low of $64.07 and a 52-week high of $99.59. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $95.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $88.57.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) last announced its earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $5.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.64 billion. Charles Schwab had a return on equity of 19.30% and a net margin of 33.68%.The business’s revenue was up 24.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.73 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Charles Schwab will post 4.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Charles Schwab Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 8th were issued a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 8th. Charles Schwab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.03%.

Charles Schwab announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, July 24th that allows the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to repurchase up to 11.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Jonathan S. Beatty sold 6,144 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.81, for a total value of $594,800.64. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 11,923 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,154,265.63. This trade represents a 34.01% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Nigel J. Murtagh sold 24,096 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.91, for a total value of $2,359,239.36. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 58,999 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,776,592.09. This represents a 29.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 267,128 shares of company stock worth $26,232,077. Corporate insiders own 6.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Charles Schwab

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bain Capital Public Equity Management II LLC purchased a new position in Charles Schwab in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $79,605,000. Independent Advisor Alliance increased its stake in Charles Schwab by 13.8% in the 1st quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 39,103 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,061,000 after purchasing an additional 4,754 shares in the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH increased its stake in Charles Schwab by 6.2% in the 1st quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 1,181,563 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $92,493,000 after purchasing an additional 68,858 shares in the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association increased its stake in Charles Schwab by 14.1% in the 1st quarter. United Services Automobile Association now owns 39,512 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,074,000 after purchasing an additional 4,869 shares in the last quarter. Finally, World Investment Advisors increased its stake in Charles Schwab by 7.6% in the 1st quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 163,007 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $12,760,000 after purchasing an additional 11,505 shares in the last quarter. 84.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.