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

Shares of The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday after the company announced a dividend. The stock traded as high as $83.84 and last traded at $83.52, with a volume of 4012060 shares. 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 issued a $0.27 dividend. This is a boost from Charles Schwab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.29%. Charles Schwab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.44%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on SCHW. StockNews.com upgraded Charles Schwab from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Charles Schwab from $87.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Citigroup raised their price target on Charles Schwab from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Charles Schwab from $81.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Charles Schwab from $74.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $84.11.

Charles Schwab Trading Up 1.7 %

The company has a current ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $148.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.99. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $77.89 and a two-hundred day moving average of $71.00.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $5.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.19 billion. Charles Schwab had a return on equity of 18.20% and a net margin of 30.31%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 19.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.68 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that The Charles Schwab Co. will post 4.09 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Charles Schwab news, insider Jonathan S. Beatty sold 2,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.01, for a total value of $188,623.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 18,069 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,481,838.69. This trade represents a 11.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Arun Sarin sold 8,548 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.82, for a total value of $699,397.36. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly 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. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 50,014 shares of company stock valued at $4,052,281. Company insiders own 6.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Charles Schwab

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp lifted its holdings 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 lifted its holdings in shares of Charles Schwab by 1.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 30,141,441 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,945,614,000 after purchasing an additional 445,304 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in Charles Schwab by 6.3% during the third 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 period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in Charles Schwab by 15.0% during the third 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 lifted its holdings in Charles Schwab by 2.5% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 20,189,558 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,308,485,000 after acquiring an additional 493,264 shares during the period. 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.