Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) Trading Down 0.8% Following Insider Selling

The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW)’s share price was down 0.8% during mid-day trading on Wednesday following insider selling activity. The company traded as low as $78.27 and last traded at $78.30. Approximately 894,908 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 88% from the average daily volume of 7,412,238 shares. The stock had previously closed at $78.90.

Specifically, CFO Peter B. Crawford sold 5,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.71, for a total value of $361,405.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 24,111 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,584,333.81. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Charles Schwab news, insider Nigel J. Murtagh sold 29,991 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.80, for a total transaction of $2,033,389.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 81,446 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,522,038.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Peter B. Crawford sold 5,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.71, for a total value of $361,405.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 24,111 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,584,333.81. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 622,536 shares of company stock valued at $46,208,155. 6.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Charles Schwab from $86.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Charles Schwab from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Charles Schwab from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Charles Schwab from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $80.00 price objective on shares of Charles Schwab in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $75.12.

Charles Schwab Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.42 and a quick ratio of 0.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $128.44 billion, a PE ratio of 30.45, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 0.98. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $73.50 and a 200-day simple moving average of $67.05.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) last posted 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. Charles Schwab had a net margin of 26.14% and a return on equity of 19.25%. The business had revenue of $4.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.71 billion. As a group, equities analysts forecast that The Charles Schwab Co. will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Charles Schwab Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.38%. Charles Schwab’s payout ratio is currently 41.84%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Charles Schwab during the third quarter worth about $1,458,000. Private Advisor Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Charles Schwab by 9.0% during the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 104,479 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,736,000 after purchasing an additional 8,643 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Charles Schwab by 522.3% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 2,234 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $123,000 after purchasing an additional 1,875 shares during the period. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Charles Schwab in the third quarter valued at approximately $909,000. Finally, Achmea Investment Management B.V. boosted its holdings in shares of Charles Schwab by 64.5% in the third quarter. Achmea Investment Management B.V. now owns 88,583 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,863,000 after acquiring an additional 34,749 shares in the last quarter. 84.38% of the stock is currently 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.