Charles Schwab Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:SCHW)

The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW) saw unusually large options trading activity on Tuesday. Stock investors acquired 43,705 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 26% compared to the average volume of 34,748 call options.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Carolyn Schwab-Pomerantz sold 9,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.96, for a total value of $557,640.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 567,057 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $35,134,851.72. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Charles Schwab news, CEO Walter W. Bettinger purchased 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $66.26 per share, for a total transaction of $1,656,500.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 827,377 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $54,822,000.02. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Carolyn Schwab-Pomerantz sold 9,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.96, for a total transaction of $557,640.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 567,057 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,134,851.72. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 98,856 shares of company stock worth $6,398,604. 6.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Charles Schwab

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in Charles Schwab by 4.2% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 72,306,560 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,230,657,000 after purchasing an additional 2,946,327 shares during the period. Darsana Capital Partners LP grew its position in Charles Schwab by 200.0% during the second quarter. Darsana Capital Partners LP now owns 3,000,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $221,070,000 after buying an additional 2,000,000 shares in the last quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD increased its stake in Charles Schwab by 28,736.1% during the 1st quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD now owns 1,485,637 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $107,471,000 after acquiring an additional 1,480,485 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund acquired a new position in Charles Schwab in the 1st quarter valued at $105,563,000. Finally, Westwood Holdings Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Charles Schwab by 231.2% during the 1st quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 1,498,929 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $108,433,000 after acquiring an additional 1,046,322 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.38% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on SCHW shares. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Charles Schwab from $70.00 to $68.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on Charles Schwab from $77.00 to $76.00 in a report on Tuesday. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Charles Schwab from $72.00 to $66.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on shares of Charles Schwab from $80.00 to $76.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Finally, TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating and set a $71.00 price target (down from $88.00) on shares of Charles Schwab in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $71.82.

Charles Schwab Stock Up 6.1 %

SCHW stock traded up $4.14 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $71.96. 21,272,792 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,082,911. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a current ratio of 0.42. Charles Schwab has a 1-year low of $48.66 and a 1-year high of $79.49. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $64.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $69.49. The firm has a market cap of $127.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.97.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.02. Charles Schwab had a return on equity of 18.14% and a net margin of 26.30%. The company had revenue of $4.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.78 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.77 earnings per share. Charles Schwab’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Charles Schwab will post 3.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Charles Schwab Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 9th were given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 9th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.39%. Charles Schwab’s payout ratio is 41.49%.

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.