Investors Buy Large Volume of Call Options on Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW)

Key Points

• Traders bought an unusually large number of call options — 42,405 call contracts, a 66% increase over the typical daily volume — signaling elevated bullish bets on SCHW.
• Insiders have been selling stock, including Chairman Walter W. Bettinger’s sale of 67,514 shares (≈$7.04M); insiders disposed of 468,748 shares (~$47.9M) over the past three months.
• Large institutional activity and positive analyst sentiment: Norges Bank opened a new ≈$1.99B position, institutional ownership is ~84.38%, the company beat Q results and set FY2026 guidance of 5.70–5.80 EPS while the consensus target is about $114 ("Moderate Buy").

The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE:SCHW - Get Free Report) saw unusually large options trading activity on Monday. Stock traders bought 42,405 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 66% compared to the typical daily volume of 25,602 call options.

Insider Activity at Charles Schwab

In related news, Chairman Walter W. Bettinger sold 67,514 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.25, for a total value of $7,038,334.50. Following the sale, the chairman directly owned 529,346 shares in the company, valued at $55,184,320.50. The trade was a 11.31% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Paul V. Woolway sold 7,941 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.00, for a total transaction of $794,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 29,866 shares in the company, valued at $2,986,600. The trade was a 21.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 468,748 shares of company stock worth $47,885,857 in the last three months. Insiders own 6.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Charles Schwab

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Charles Schwab during the 4th quarter valued at $1,994,189,000. Primecap Management Co. CA raised its stake in Charles Schwab by 11.4% during the 3rd quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 21,209,187 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,024,841,000 after purchasing an additional 2,174,381 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth raised its stake in Charles Schwab by 716.5% during the 4th quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 2,101,463 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $209,948,000 after purchasing an additional 1,844,095 shares during the last quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD acquired a new position in Charles Schwab during the 3rd quarter valued at $169,104,000. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in Charles Schwab by 292.7% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,206,320 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $210,637,000 after purchasing an additional 1,644,503 shares during the last quarter. 84.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on SCHW. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Charles Schwab from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Monday, March 23rd. TD Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Charles Schwab in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $114.00 target price on shares of Charles Schwab in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods began coverage on shares of Charles Schwab in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $110.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $127.00 target price on shares of Charles Schwab in a research report on Friday, April 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Charles Schwab has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $114.00.

Charles Schwab Stock Up 2.6%

NYSE SCHW traded up $2.30 during trading on Monday, reaching $90.80. The company's stock had a trading volume of 8,398,200 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,604,799. The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $157.81 billion, a PE ratio of 16.79, a PEG ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 0.90. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $94.10 and a 200-day moving average price of $96.30. Charles Schwab has a 1-year low of $79.30 and a 1-year high of $107.50.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.04. Charles Schwab had a net margin of 37.99% and a return on equity of 23.03%. The business had revenue of $6.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.39 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.04 earnings per share. Charles Schwab's revenue for the quarter was up 15.8% on a year-over-year basis. Charles Schwab has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.700-5.800 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Charles Schwab will post 5.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Charles Schwab Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 8th will be paid a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 8th. Charles Schwab's payout ratio is presently 25.40%.

Charles Schwab Company Profile

Charles Schwab Corporation NYSE: SCHW is a diversified financial services firm that provides brokerage, banking, wealth management and advisory services to individual investors, independent investment advisors and institutional clients. Its primary offerings include retail brokerage accounts, online trading platforms, Schwab-branded mutual funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs), retirement plan services, custodial services for independent Registered Investment Advisors (RIAs), and banking products through Charles Schwab Bank.

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