Morgan Stanley Trims Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) Target Price to $68.00

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) had its price target cut by Morgan Stanley from $70.00 to $68.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on SCHW. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Charles Schwab from $82.00 to $78.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Charles Schwab from $79.00 to $73.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 4th. Barclays dropped their price objective on Charles Schwab from $77.00 to $68.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an outperform rating and set a $80.00 price target on shares of Charles Schwab in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, JMP Securities lowered their price target on Charles Schwab from $85.00 to $82.00 and set a market outperform rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $72.25.

Charles Schwab Stock Performance

Shares of Charles Schwab stock opened at $66.65 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $63.98 and a 200-day moving average of $69.60. The company has a market cap of $118.53 billion, a PE ratio of 27.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.97. Charles Schwab has a 1-year low of $48.66 and a 1-year high of $79.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $4.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.68 billion. Charles Schwab had a return on equity of 18.14% and a net margin of 26.30%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.75 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Charles Schwab will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Charles Schwab Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 9th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 9th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.50%. Charles Schwab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.49%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Walter W. Bettinger acquired 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $66.26 per share, with a total value of $1,656,500.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 827,377 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $54,822,000.02. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Walter W. Bettinger bought 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $66.26 per share, with a total value of $1,656,500.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 827,377 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $54,822,000.02. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Paul V. Woolway sold 1,150 shares of Charles Schwab stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.20, for a total value of $74,980.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 61,887 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,035,032.40. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 98,856 shares of company stock worth $6,398,604. 6.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Charles Schwab

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SCHW. Nelson Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Charles Schwab by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Nelson Capital Management LLC now owns 37,726 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,729,000 after buying an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Abbrea Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Charles Schwab by 2.5% in the first quarter. Abbrea Capital LLC now owns 5,777 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $418,000 after buying an additional 142 shares during the period. Ironwood Financial llc grew its stake in Charles Schwab by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Ironwood Financial llc now owns 10,186 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $737,000 after acquiring an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in Charles Schwab by 0.7% during the second quarter. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC now owns 23,361 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,721,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sutton Place Investors LLC increased its stake in shares of Charles Schwab by 2.1% in the second quarter. Sutton Place Investors LLC now owns 8,086 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $596,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. 84.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.