Insider Selling: Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) Insider Sells 3,205 Shares of Stock

The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE:SCHW) insider Paul Woolway sold 3,205 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.33, for a total transaction of $299,122.65. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 34,778 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,245,830.74. This trade represents a 8.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

Charles Schwab Price Performance

Shares of SCHW opened at $94.13 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $170.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $95.37 and a 200 day moving average of $88.64. The Charles Schwab Corporation has a twelve month low of $64.07 and a twelve month high of $99.59.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $5.85 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.64 billion. Charles Schwab had a net margin of 33.68% and a return on equity of 19.30%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 24.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.73 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that The Charles Schwab Corporation will post 4.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Charles Schwab Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, August 8th were given a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 8th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Charles Schwab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.03%.

Charles Schwab announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, July 24th that permits the company to buyback $20.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire up to 11.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on SCHW shares. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Charles Schwab from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. William Blair cut shares of Charles Schwab from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. JMP Securities raised their target price on shares of Charles Schwab from $106.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Charles Schwab to $130.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $99.00 target price on shares of Charles Schwab in a report on Friday, July 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $100.52.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SCHW. Atwood & Palmer Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Charles Schwab during the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Charles Schwab during the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Charles Schwab by 75.0% during the 1st quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 350 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. RMG Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Charles Schwab during the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Finally, CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of Charles Schwab by 97.9% during the 1st quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 386 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares during the period. 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.