Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) Upgraded at BMO Capital Markets

BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) to a strong-buy rating in a research report report published on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

SCHW has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Wells Fargo & Company set a $102.00 price objective on Charles Schwab and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Charles Schwab in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and set a $99.00 price objective on shares of Charles Schwab in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Bank of America raised their price objective on Charles Schwab from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Charles Schwab from $102.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $100.52.

Charles Schwab Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SCHW opened at $94.13 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $170.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. Charles Schwab has a 1-year low of $64.07 and a 1-year high of $99.59. The business’s 50 day moving average is $95.37 and its 200-day moving average is $88.64.

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

Charles Schwab announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, July 24th that permits the company to buyback $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire up to 11.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Charles Schwab Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Charles Schwab

In related news, insider Jonathan S. Beatty sold 6,144 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.81, for a total transaction of $594,800.64. Following the sale, the insider 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Walter W. Bettinger sold 173,876 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.84, for a total value of $17,185,903.84. Following the sale, the chairman directly owned 590,734 shares in the company, valued at approximately $58,388,148.56. This trade represents a 22.74% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 267,128 shares of company stock worth $26,232,077 over the last 90 days. 6.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Charles Schwab

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in Charles Schwab by 380.5% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 24,240 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,794,000 after buying an additional 19,195 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC lifted its holdings in Charles Schwab by 73.5% during the 1st quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 14,845 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,162,000 after buying an additional 6,289 shares during the period. Magnus Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Charles Schwab during the 1st quarter worth about $211,000. Procyon Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Charles Schwab by 35.5% during the 1st quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 6,567 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $514,000 after buying an additional 1,719 shares during the period. Finally, DHK Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Charles Schwab during the 1st quarter worth about $202,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.