Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) Upgraded by Credit Suisse Group to “Outperform”

Credit Suisse Group upgraded shares of Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW – Get Rating) from a neutral rating to an outperform rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They currently have $67.50 price objective on the financial services provider’s stock, down from their previous price objective of $81.50.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on SCHW. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Charles Schwab from $87.00 to $79.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 30th. Citigroup raised shares of Charles Schwab from a neutral rating to a buy rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $83.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Monday, March 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of Charles Schwab in a research note on Friday, March 10th. They issued a buy rating and a $97.00 price objective on the stock. William Blair reaffirmed an outperform rating on shares of Charles Schwab in a research note on Tuesday, January 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Charles Schwab from $104.00 to $99.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Charles Schwab presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $85.04.

Charles Schwab Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SCHW opened at $56.41 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $76.48 and a 200 day moving average of $76.60. The company has a market capitalization of $101.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a quick ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. Charles Schwab has a 52 week low of $45.00 and a 52 week high of $93.16.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.10 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $5.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.55 billion. Charles Schwab had a net margin of 34.60% and a return on equity of 24.94%. The firm’s revenue was up 16.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.86 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Charles Schwab will post 4.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Charles Schwab Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 24th. Investors of record on Friday, February 10th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This is an increase from Charles Schwab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 9th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.77%. Charles Schwab’s dividend payout ratio is 28.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Charles Schwab

In other news, Chairman Charles R. Schwab sold 62,500 shares of Charles Schwab stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.54, for a total transaction of $5,096,250.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 30,731,256 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,505,826,614.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, President Richard A. Wurster purchased 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 17th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $54.39 per share, for a total transaction of $108,780.00. Following the purchase, the president now owns 101,391 shares in the company, valued at $5,514,656.49. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Charles R. Schwab sold 62,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.54, for a total transaction of $5,096,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 30,731,256 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,505,826,614.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have acquired 71,000 shares of company stock worth $4,165,460 and have sold 728,106 shares worth $58,067,403. Corporate insiders own 7.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Charles Schwab

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Toronto Dominion Bank lifted its stake in shares of Charles Schwab by 32,224.4% in the 4th quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 225,994,826 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $18,816,289,000 after purchasing an additional 225,295,680 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Charles Schwab by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 124,437,061 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,943,291,000 after purchasing an additional 2,589,952 shares during the period. Dodge & Cox raised its stake in shares of Charles Schwab by 9.4% during the 2nd quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 79,042,463 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,993,903,000 after purchasing an additional 6,803,282 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Charles Schwab by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 65,566,364 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,712,255,000 after purchasing an additional 717,683 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in shares of Charles Schwab by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 33,417,491 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,111,317,000 after purchasing an additional 851,066 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 73.49% of the company’s stock.

Charles Schwab Company Profile

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The Charles Schwab Corp. is a savings and loan holding company, which engages in the provision of wealth management, securities brokerage, banking, asset management, custody, and financial advisory services. It operates through the Investor Services and Advisor Services segments. The Investor Services segment includes retail brokerage and banking services to individual investors, and retirement plan services, as well as other corporate brokerage services, to businesses and their employees.