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

The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Stock traders purchased 45,419 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 71% compared to the typical daily volume of 26,625 call options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays upgraded Charles Schwab from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $74.00 to $95.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Charles Schwab from $67.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Charles Schwab from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Charles Schwab from $90.00 to $89.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $94.00 price objective (up previously from $84.00) on shares of Charles Schwab in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Charles Schwab currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $81.41.

Charles Schwab Price Performance

NYSE:SCHW traded up $3.56 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $79.97. 12,162,001 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,708,511. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $77.65 and its 200-day moving average is $70.62. Charles Schwab has a twelve month low of $61.01 and a twelve month high of $83.35. The firm has a market cap of $142.32 billion, a PE ratio of 31.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a current ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.11. Charles Schwab had a return on equity of 16.92% and a net margin of 27.47%. The company had revenue of $5.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5,190,822.51 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.68 EPS. Charles Schwab’s revenue was up 19.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Charles Schwab will post 3.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Charles Schwab Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.25%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. Charles Schwab’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.06%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Nigel J. Murtagh sold 12,739 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.17, for a total transaction of $1,034,024.63. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 59,092 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,796,497.64. This represents a 17.73 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jonathan S. Beatty sold 2,500 shares of Charles Schwab stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.02, for a total transaction of $192,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 18,069 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,391,674.38. This trade represents a 12.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 26,823 shares of company stock worth $2,171,194. Corporate insiders own 6.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. lifted its stake in Charles Schwab by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 10,827 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $801,000 after purchasing an additional 552 shares in the last quarter. Lantz Financial LLC purchased a new position in Charles Schwab during the fourth quarter worth approximately $216,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its stake in Charles Schwab by 592.0% during the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 136,828 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,127,000 after buying an additional 117,055 shares during the last quarter. CX Institutional grew its holdings in Charles Schwab by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. CX Institutional now owns 9,298 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $688,000 after buying an additional 198 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LexAurum Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Charles Schwab by 10.4% in the 4th quarter. LexAurum Advisors LLC now owns 14,876 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,101,000 after acquiring an additional 1,404 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.38% of the company’s stock.

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.