Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) Shares Up 0.3% Following Dividend Announcement

Shares of The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW) traded up 0.3% on Wednesday following a dividend announcement from the company. The company traded as high as $75.49 and last traded at $75.43. 1,134,128 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 85% from the average session volume of 7,712,198 shares. The stock had previously closed at $75.23.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Investors of record on Friday, May 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.33%. Charles Schwab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.84%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on SCHW shares. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $71.00 target price (up from $70.00) on shares of Charles Schwab in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. StockNews.com upgraded Charles Schwab from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Charles Schwab from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Charles Schwab from $86.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Charles Schwab from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $74.47.

Charles Schwab Price Performance

The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $69.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $63.60. The company has a current ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The stock has a market cap of $133.56 billion, a PE ratio of 31.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.01.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Chairman Charles R. Schwab sold 89,275 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.62, for a total value of $6,661,700.50. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 30,641,981 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,286,504,622.22. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, Chairman Charles R. Schwab sold 89,275 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.62, for a total value of $6,661,700.50. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 30,641,981 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,286,504,622.22. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Charles R. Schwab sold 71,226 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.99, for a total value of $4,628,977.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 61,251,038 shares in the company, valued at $3,980,704,959.62. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 389,167 shares of company stock worth $26,987,035. Company insiders own 6.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Charles Schwab

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SCHW. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in Charles Schwab by 33.4% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 69,360,233 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,771,985,000 after purchasing an additional 17,369,091 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Charles Schwab in the 4th quarter valued at about $950,192,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in Charles Schwab by 26.3% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 29,775,952 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,634,700,000 after purchasing an additional 6,195,934 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake in Charles Schwab by 186.2% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 7,107,176 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $390,234,000 after purchasing an additional 4,624,302 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners lifted its stake in Charles Schwab by 424.7% in the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,451,090 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $305,400,000 after purchasing an additional 3,602,830 shares during the last quarter. 84.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.