Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) Reaches New 12-Month High - Here's Why

The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE:SCHW - Get Free Report)'s stock price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $90.19 and last traded at $89.58, with a volume of 3988199 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $88.96.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on SCHW. Citigroup upgraded Charles Schwab from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $85.00 to $102.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Charles Schwab from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $100.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Charles Schwab from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Charles Schwab in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic upgraded Charles Schwab from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their price target for the company from $65.00 to $82.00 in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $89.40.

Charles Schwab Stock Down 0.7%

The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $84.81 and a 200-day simple moving average of $80.12. The firm has a market cap of $162.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.04, a P/E/G ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.53.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.03. Charles Schwab had a return on equity of 18.31% and a net margin of 31.71%. The business had revenue of $5.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.46 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.74 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that The Charles Schwab Corporation will post 4.22 EPS for the current year.

Charles Schwab Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th were issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 9th. Charles Schwab's dividend payout ratio is 32.73%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Charles Schwab

In other news, insider Paul V. Woolway sold 8,614 shares of Charles Schwab stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $689,120.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 49,204 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,936,320. This trade represents a 14.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Frank C. Herringer sold 3,592 shares of Charles Schwab stock in a transaction on Monday, April 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.26, for a total value of $266,741.92. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 172,162 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,784,750.12. This represents a 2.04% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 128,609 shares of company stock valued at $11,182,440 in the last quarter. 6.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Charles Schwab

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Charles Schwab during the fourth quarter worth $1,455,000. Banco Santander S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Charles Schwab by 49.6% during the fourth quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 16,316 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,208,000 after buying an additional 5,413 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in shares of Charles Schwab by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 10,438,852 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $772,579,000 after purchasing an additional 60,683 shares during the period. Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC increased its position in shares of Charles Schwab by 217.0% in the fourth quarter. Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC now owns 48,350 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,578,000 after purchasing an additional 33,100 shares during the period. Finally, Graham Capital Management L.P. increased its position in shares of Charles Schwab by 248.3% in the fourth quarter. Graham Capital Management L.P. now owns 112,376 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $8,317,000 after purchasing an additional 80,112 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.