Morgan Stanley Cuts Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) Price Target to $70.00

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) had its price objective lowered by Morgan Stanley from $71.00 to $70.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an equal weight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen restated a hold rating and issued a $71.00 price objective (down from $88.00) on shares of Charles Schwab in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Charles Schwab from $85.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Monday, July 8th. JMP Securities cut their price objective on shares of Charles Schwab from $85.00 to $82.00 and set a market outperform rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Bank of America lowered their price target on Charles Schwab from $72.00 to $66.00 and set an underperform rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Charles Schwab from a market perform rating to an outperform rating and increased their price objective for the company from $76.00 to $84.00 in a report on Monday, July 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $74.27.

Charles Schwab Price Performance

SCHW opened at $65.55 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.42 and a quick ratio of 0.42. Charles Schwab has a 1 year low of $48.66 and a 1 year high of $79.49. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $69.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $70.02. The firm has a market cap of $116.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.43, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 0.99.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.01. Charles Schwab had a return on equity of 18.14% and a net margin of 26.30%. The firm had revenue of $4.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.68 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.75 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Charles Schwab will post 3.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Charles Schwab Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 9th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.53%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 9th. Charles Schwab’s payout ratio is 41.84%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Charles Schwab news, President Richard A. Wurster acquired 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $62.05 per share, with a total value of $620,500.00. Following the transaction, the president now directly owns 144,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,949,347.40. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Bernard J. Clark sold 77,431 shares of Charles Schwab stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.94, for a total transaction of $5,492,955.14. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 121,666 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,630,986.04. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, President Richard A. Wurster purchased 10,000 shares of Charles Schwab stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $62.05 per share, with a total value of $620,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now directly owns 144,228 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,949,347.40. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 172,911 shares of company stock worth $11,836,288 in the last 90 days. 6.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Charles Schwab

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in Charles Schwab by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 10,994 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $756,000 after acquiring an additional 612 shares during the period. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners acquired a new stake in Charles Schwab during the fourth quarter worth about $191,000. TRUE Private Wealth Advisors acquired a new position in Charles Schwab in the 4th quarter valued at about $209,000. Xponance Inc. grew its stake in shares of Charles Schwab by 8.4% in the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 192,922 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $13,273,000 after buying an additional 14,972 shares during the period. Finally, Western Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Charles Schwab by 15.2% in the fourth quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,375 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $783,000 after buying an additional 1,499 shares in the last quarter. 84.38% of the stock is 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.