Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) Hits New 1-Year High After Dividend Announcement

Shares of The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW) reached a new 52-week high on Thursday following a dividend announcement from the company. The stock traded as high as $83.84 and last traded at $83.52, with a volume of 4012060 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $82.06.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. This is an increase from Charles Schwab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.31%. Charles Schwab’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.44%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SCHW has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Charles Schwab from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $89.00 to $93.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Charles Schwab from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Charles Schwab from $67.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $94.00 target price (up from $84.00) on shares of Charles Schwab in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Charles Schwab from $74.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $84.11.

Charles Schwab Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.47 and a quick ratio of 0.47. The company has a market capitalization of $147.22 billion, a PE ratio of 27.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 0.99. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $77.94 and its 200-day simple moving average is $71.08.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.11. Charles Schwab had a return on equity of 18.20% and a net margin of 30.31%. The business had revenue of $5.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.19 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.68 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that The Charles Schwab Co. will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Charles Schwab

In other news, insider Jonathan S. Beatty sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.02, for a total transaction of $192,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 18,069 shares in the company, valued at $1,391,674.38. This represents a 12.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Arun Sarin sold 8,548 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.82, for a total value of $699,397.36. Following the sale, the director now owns 18,617 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,523,242.94. This trade represents a 31.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 50,014 shares of company stock valued at $4,052,281 over the last three months. 6.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in 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 purchasing an additional 3,157,923 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in 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 valued at $1,858,706,000 after buying an additional 1,711,312 shares during the period. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd grew its holdings in Charles Schwab by 2,617.6% in the 3rd quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 1,707,771 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $110,681,000 after buying an additional 1,644,931 shares during the period. KBC Group NV grew its holdings in Charles Schwab by 186.7% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,138,033 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $158,236,000 after buying an additional 1,392,255 shares during the period. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP purchased a new stake in Charles Schwab in the 3rd quarter valued at about $86,845,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.38% of the company’s stock.

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.