Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) Given New $131.00 Price Target at Morgan Stanley

Key Points

• Morgan Stanley has increased its price objective for Charles Schwab stock from $117.00 to $131.00, indicating a potential upside of 33.81% from the previous close.
• Charles Schwab reported quarterly earnings of $1.14 EPS, surpassing analyst expectations of $1.10, with revenue of $5.85 billion, reflecting a 24.8% year-over-year increase.
• The company has authorized a stock repurchase plan to buy back up to $20 billion in outstanding shares, signaling management's belief that the stock is undervalued.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW - Free Report) had its target price raised by Morgan Stanley from $117.00 to $131.00 in a report published on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an overweight rating on the financial services provider's stock.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the company. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Charles Schwab from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. JMP Securities boosted their price target on Charles Schwab from $106.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. UBS Group boosted their price target on Charles Schwab from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Citigroup boosted their price target on Charles Schwab from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $99.00 price target on shares of Charles Schwab in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $99.35.

Charles Schwab Price Performance

Shares of SCHW traded up $0.66 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $98.57. The company had a trading volume of 5,960,363 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,537,062. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $90.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $83.33. The company has a current ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The company has a market capitalization of $179.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.50, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.93. Charles Schwab has a 12-month low of $61.15 and a 12-month high of $99.59.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $5.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.64 billion. Charles Schwab had a return on equity of 19.73% and a net margin of 33.68%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 24.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.73 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Charles Schwab will post 4.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Charles Schwab declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, July 24th that permits the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to repurchase up to 11.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Charles Schwab Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 8th will be given a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.10%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 8th. Charles Schwab's payout ratio is currently 29.03%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Jonathan M. Craig sold 47,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.46, for a total transaction of $4,201,850.00. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Nigel J. Murtagh sold 20,872 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.01, for a total value of $1,878,688.72. Following the sale, the insider owned 58,999 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,310,499.99. The trade was a 26.13% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 116,313 shares of company stock worth $10,264,091. Insiders own 6.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Charles Schwab

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Atwood & Palmer Inc. acquired a new stake in Charles Schwab during the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Charles Schwab during the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Charles Schwab by 75.0% during the 1st quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 350 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. RMG Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Charles Schwab during the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.38% of the company's stock.

Charles Schwab Company Profile

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.