Traders Purchase High Volume of Call Options on Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW)

The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW) was the target of unusually large options trading on Monday. Investors acquired 37,384 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 39% compared to the typical daily volume of 26,891 call options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of Charles Schwab from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Charles Schwab from $96.00 to $84.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Charles Schwab from $74.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Charles Schwab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $100.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Charles Schwab from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $88.33.

Charles Schwab Stock Up 0.5%

SCHW stock traded up $0.47 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $89.16. The company had a trading volume of 6,767,421 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,432,002. The company has a market capitalization of $162.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.82, a PEG ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.90. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $78.76 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $78.47. Charles Schwab has a 52 week low of $61.01 and a 52 week high of $89.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.47 and a quick ratio of 0.47.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.03. Charles Schwab had a return on equity of 18.20% and a net margin of 30.31%. The business had revenue of $5.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.46 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.74 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Charles Schwab will post 4.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Charles Schwab Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be paid a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.21%. Charles Schwab’s payout ratio is presently 32.73%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Charles Schwab news, Director Frank C. Herringer sold 3,592 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.26, for a total transaction of $266,741.92. Following the transaction, the director now owns 172,162 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,784,750.12. This represents a 2.04% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Paul V. Woolway sold 9,887 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.38, for a total transaction of $745,282.06. Following the sale, the insider now owns 47,931 shares in the company, valued at $3,613,038.78. The trade was a 17.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 38,412 shares of company stock worth $3,014,797 in the last ninety days. 6.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Charles Schwab

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Atwood & Palmer Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Charles Schwab in the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Charles Schwab by 75.0% during the first quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 350 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Charles Schwab in the first quarter worth $31,000. Activest Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of Charles Schwab by 6,650.0% in the first quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 405 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 399 shares during the last quarter. Finally, WFA Asset Management Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Charles Schwab during the first quarter valued at $33,000. 84.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.