Morgan Stanley Lowers Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) Price Target to $135.00

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) had its target price cut by equities researchers at Morgan Stanley from $148.00 to $135.00 in a report issued on Friday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 42.39% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other equities analysts also recently weighed in on SCHW. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Charles Schwab from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Charles Schwab from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, March 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $131.00 price target on shares of Charles Schwab in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Citigroup reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating on shares of Charles Schwab in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Citizens Jmp raised their target price on shares of Charles Schwab from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $114.50.

Charles Schwab Stock Performance

Shares of SCHW opened at $94.81 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.62. The company has a market capitalization of $164.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.35, a PEG ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.90. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $95.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $96.33. Charles Schwab has a 1 year low of $72.80 and a 1 year high of $107.50.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.32 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $6.34 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.19 billion. Charles Schwab had a net margin of 37.01% and a return on equity of 21.97%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 18.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.01 earnings per share. Charles Schwab has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.700-5.800 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Charles Schwab will post 4.22 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Charles Schwab

In other Charles Schwab news, Chairman Walter W. Bettinger sold 162,462 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.90, for a total transaction of $16,879,801.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman directly owned 529,346 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $54,999,049.40. This trade represents a 23.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Dennis Howard sold 27,903 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.02, for a total transaction of $2,651,343.06. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 10,470 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $994,859.40. This represents a 72.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 413,568 shares of company stock worth $42,435,038 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 6.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SCHW. Souders Financial Advisors lifted its position in shares of Charles Schwab by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Souders Financial Advisors now owns 4,341 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $434,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Lantz Financial LLC boosted its position in Charles Schwab by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Lantz Financial LLC now owns 3,243 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $324,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the period. Roberts Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Charles Schwab by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Roberts Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 22,961 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,294,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the period. Essex Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in Charles Schwab by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 12,833 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,282,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the period. Finally, ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its position in Charles Schwab by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 2,390 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $228,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the period. 84.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Stories Impacting Charles Schwab

Here are the key news stories impacting Charles Schwab this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley highlighted exchanges and brokers including Charles Schwab as defensive picks, which supports demand for SCHW as a lower-volatility financial exposure. CME, Nasdaq, Charles Schwab Cited as Defensive Picks Among Exchanges, Brokers, Morgan Stanley Says
• Positive Sentiment: Keefe, Bruyette & Woods initiated coverage of SCHW, an event that often boosts visibility and can attract new institutional interest. Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) Coverage Initiated at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks highlights that Schwab’s earnings are expected to grow and frames the setup for a likely beat, which could support the stock if results meet or exceed expectations. The Charles Schwab Corporation (SCHW) Earnings Expected to Grow: Should You Buy?
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley lowered its price target from $148 to $135 but kept an “overweight” rating — still bullish on the name long term even as their near-term valuation was trimmed. Morgan Stanley price target note (Benzinga)
• Neutral Sentiment: UBS cut its target from $125 to $119 but retained a “buy” rating; mixed signals as price targets come down while conviction remains. UBS lowers Schwab price target (Benzinga)
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts are reworking models and trimmed a modeled fair value slightly (from ~$120.32 to ~$118), reflecting debate over execution and sector outlook rather than a consensus downgrade. How The Charles Schwab (SCHW) Story Is Evolving As Analysts Rework Targets And Assumptions
• Neutral Sentiment: Schwab research on crypto allocations (bitcoin up to ~22.4% in some portfolios) is product/research-driven and may influence long-term asset flows rather than immediate stock moves. Charles Schwab Identifies 2 Crypto Allocation Approaches Driving Bitcoin Weights as High as 22.4%
• Neutral Sentiment: Feature/retrospective pieces on Schwab’s long-term returns and growth interest investors but are less likely to move the stock immediately. If You Invested $1000 in The Charles Schwab Corporation a Decade Ago, This is How Much It’d Be Worth Now
• Negative Sentiment: Erste Group cut its FY2027 EPS estimate for SCHW, a direct hit to near-term earnings expectations and a clear negative for the share price. Charles Schwab FY2027 EPS Estimate Cut by Erste Group Bank
• Negative Sentiment: Operational actions such as the planned closure of the downtown Portland branch are minor but add to headlines about cost/footprint adjustments. Charles Schwab to close downtown Portland branch

Charles Schwab Company Profile

Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE: SCHW) is a diversified financial services firm that provides brokerage, banking, wealth management and advisory services to individual investors, independent investment advisors and institutional clients. Its primary offerings include retail brokerage accounts, online trading platforms, Schwab-branded mutual funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs), retirement plan services, custodial services for independent Registered Investment Advisors (RIAs), and banking products through Charles Schwab Bank.