Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) Cut to “Sell” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report report published on Friday morning.

A number of other brokerages also recently weighed in on SCHW. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Charles Schwab from $86.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Charles Schwab from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an underperform rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Charles Schwab from $65.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Charles Schwab from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of Charles Schwab from $92.00 to $88.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $75.12.

Charles Schwab Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of Charles Schwab stock opened at $72.27 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $128.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.98. The company’s 50 day moving average is $73.61 and its 200 day moving average is $67.34. Charles Schwab has a twelve month low of $48.66 and a twelve month high of $79.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $4.74 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.71 billion. Charles Schwab had a net margin of 26.14% and a return on equity of 19.25%. Research analysts anticipate that Charles Schwab will post 3.31 EPS for the current year.

Charles Schwab Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 10th were paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.38%. Charles Schwab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.84%.

Insider Activity at Charles Schwab

In related news, Director Carolyn Schwab-Pomerantz sold 9,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.41, for a total transaction of $705,690.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 574,257 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $45,027,491.37. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Peter B. Crawford sold 5,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.71, for a total transaction of $361,405.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 24,111 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,584,333.81. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Carolyn Schwab-Pomerantz sold 9,000 shares of Charles Schwab stock in a transaction on Monday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.41, for a total transaction of $705,690.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 574,257 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $45,027,491.37. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 622,536 shares of company stock valued at $46,208,155. Corporate insiders own 6.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Charles Schwab

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in SCHW. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Charles Schwab in the 3rd quarter worth $1,458,000. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Charles Schwab in the 3rd quarter worth $909,000. Achmea Investment Management B.V. grew its stake in shares of Charles Schwab by 64.5% in the 3rd quarter. Achmea Investment Management B.V. now owns 88,583 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,863,000 after buying an additional 34,749 shares in the last quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. bought a new stake in shares of Charles Schwab in the 3rd quarter worth about $207,000. Finally, HBK Sorce Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Charles Schwab by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 26,386 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,449,000 after acquiring an additional 796 shares during the last quarter. 84.38% of the stock is 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.