Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) Posts Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.03 EPS

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The financial services provider reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.03, RTT News reports. The company had revenue of $5.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.46 billion. Charles Schwab had a net margin of 30.31% and a return on equity of 18.20%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.74 EPS.

Charles Schwab Stock Performance

Shares of SCHW opened at $76.52 on Friday. 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 cap of $138.77 billion, a PE ratio of 25.59, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.91. Charles Schwab has a 12 month low of $61.01 and a 12 month high of $84.50. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $77.30 and a 200-day moving average price of $76.40.

Charles Schwab Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a $0.27 dividend. This is a positive change from Charles Schwab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.41%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Charles Schwab’s payout ratio is currently 36.12%.

Insider Activity at Charles Schwab

In related news, General Counsel Peter J. Morgan III sold 14,643 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.70, for a total value of $1,181,690.10. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed 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 stock was sold at an average price of $75.38, for a total value of $745,282.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 47,931 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,613,038.78. This trade represents a 17.10 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 513,081 shares of company stock valued at $41,903,066 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 6.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Charles Schwab

A hedge fund recently raised its stake in Charles Schwab stock. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in shares of The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW) by 380.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 24,240 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 19,195 shares during the quarter. Brighton Jones LLC’s holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $1,794,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley upgraded Charles Schwab from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $76.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Charles Schwab from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. JMP Securities reduced their price target on shares of Charles Schwab from $96.00 to $94.00 and set a “market outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Charles Schwab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $88.00 to $103.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on Charles Schwab from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $85.44.

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.