Charles Schwab Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:SCHW)

The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE:SCHW) was the target of some unusual options trading on Monday. Stock traders purchased 32,819 put options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 62% compared to the average volume of 20,210 put options.

Charles Schwab Stock Up 2.1%

SCHW opened at $96.77 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $95.44 and its two-hundred day moving average is $96.37. 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 cap of $168.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.77, a PEG ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.90. Charles Schwab has a one year low of $73.76 and a one year high of $107.50.

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

Charles Schwab Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 13th were given a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 13th. This is a positive change from Charles Schwab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. Charles Schwab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.47%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SCHW has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded Charles Schwab from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, March 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating and issued a $131.00 price target on shares of Charles Schwab in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Citizens Jmp lifted their price target on Charles Schwab from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Wolfe Research set a $120.00 price target on Charles Schwab in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Charles Schwab from $148.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $114.50.

Insider Transactions at Charles Schwab

In related news, insider Nigel J. Murtagh sold 7,203 shares of Charles Schwab stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.61, for a total value of $681,475.83. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 57,972 shares in the company, valued at $5,484,730.92. The trade was a 11.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Christopher V. Dodds sold 11,825 shares of Charles Schwab stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.55, for a total value of $1,236,303.75. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 449,406 shares in the company, valued at approximately $46,985,397.30. This trade represents a 2.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 413,568 shares of company stock valued at $42,435,038. 6.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Charles Schwab

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Charles Schwab by 99.2% in the fourth quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 247 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Charles Schwab in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. West Branch Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Charles Schwab in the third quarter valued at $27,000. GoalVest Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Charles Schwab in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Beacon Financial Strategies CORP purchased a new stake in shares of Charles Schwab in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. 84.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Charles Schwab

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.