Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) Reaches New 52-Week High – Here’s Why

The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW) hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $82.66 and last traded at $82.63, with a volume of 394623 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $82.25.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on SCHW shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on Charles Schwab from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on shares of Charles Schwab from $79.00 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 4th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Charles Schwab from $68.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Charles Schwab from $64.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Charles Schwab from $67.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $74.18.

Charles Schwab Stock Performance

The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $71.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $69.85. The company has a market capitalization of $146.04 billion, a PE ratio of 32.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.96. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $4.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.78 billion. Charles Schwab had a return on equity of 16.92% and a net margin of 27.47%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.77 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that The Charles Schwab Co. will post 3.12 EPS for the current year.

Charles Schwab Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.22%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. Charles Schwab’s payout ratio is currently 39.06%.

Insider Activity at Charles Schwab

In related news, insider Jonathan S. Beatty sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.02, for a total value of $192,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 18,069 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,391,674.38. This represents a 12.15 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Carolyn Schwab-Pomerantz sold 9,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.05, for a total transaction of $576,450.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 554,929 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $35,543,202.45. The trade was a 1.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 125,668 shares of company stock worth $9,230,648 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 6.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Charles Schwab

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 414,949 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Charles Schwab by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 30,141,441 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,945,614,000 after acquiring an additional 445,304 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased 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 worth $1,858,706,000 after acquiring an additional 1,711,312 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised 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 worth $1,644,674,000 after acquiring an additional 3,157,923 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Charles Schwab by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 20,189,558 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,308,485,000 after acquiring an additional 493,264 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.38% of the company’s stock.

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.