Charles Schwab Experiences Surge in Options Trading Volume

The Charles Schwab Company (NYSE:SCHW) witnessed an unusual spike in options trading activity on Tuesday. Traders purchased a total of 43,705 call options related to the company’s stock. This figure marks an approximate 26% increase compared to the usual daily volume of 34,748 call options.

Insider Trading Activities

In recent developments, Carolyn Schwab-Pomerantz, a director of the firm, sold 9,000 shares on July 19th for an average price of $61.96, accumulating a total of $557,640. This transaction resulted in the director holding 567,057 shares worth around $35.13 million, showing no change in her position percentage-wise. The details of this sale have been disclosed in a document filed with the SEC.

Additionally, on July 17th, CEO Walter W. Bettinger bought 25,000 shares at an average cost of $66.26, totaling $1.66 million. Following this acquisition, Bettinger owns 827,377 shares valued at approximately $54.82 million, again reflecting no percentage change in ownership. The disclosure regarding this transaction is also available through SEC filings.

In the past three months, insiders have offloaded 98,856 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6.4 million, indicating that insiders hold 6.60% of the total stock.

Institutional Investment Trends

Institutional investors have been active in adjusting their stakes in Charles Schwab recently. Price T Rowe Associates, for example, raised its holdings in the first quarter by 4.2%, acquiring an additional 2.94 million shares and bringing its total to over 72 million shares valued at approximately $5.23 billion. Darsana Capital Partners increased its stake by a significant 200% during the second quarter, now holding 3 million shares worth $221 million.

Moreover, Mondrian Investment Partners made a notable increase of 28,736.1% to own nearly 1.5 million shares valued at about $107.47 million. Similarly, the Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund established a new stake valued at about $105.56 million during the same quarter. Meanwhile, Westwood Holdings raised its position by 231.2%, now holding around 1.5 million shares worth approximately $108.43 million. In total, institutional and hedge fund entities own around 84.38% of Charles Schwab’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts' Reviews

Multiple research analysts have also provided insights regarding SCHW shares. Morgan Stanley recently reduced its price target for Charles Schwab from $70 to $68, assigning an "equal weight" rating. Deutsche Bank similarly decreased its price objective from $77 to $76, while Bank of America set its target lower from $72 to $66, marking an "underperform" rating for the stock.

Additionally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods adjusted its target down from $80 to $76 and maintained an "overweight" rating. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating but lowered the price target from $88 to $71. Currently, MarketBeat indicates that three investment analysts rate the stock as a sell, eight as a hold, and seven as a buy, leading to an average rating of "Hold" with a consensus price target of $71.82.

Stock Performance Overview

On Tuesday, shares of SCHW experienced a notable rise of 6.1%, trading up by $4.14 to reach $71.96. During the day, 21,272,792 shares exchanged hands, significantly higher than the average volume of 8,082,911. Presently, the company maintains a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, with a current ratio and quick ratio both at 0.42.

Charles Schwab's stock has varied, achieving a 1-year low of $48.66 and a high of $79.49. The firm holds a market cap of $127.98 billion, with a P/E ratio of 30.51 and a beta of 0.97.

In its most recent earnings announcement on October 15th, Charles Schwab reported earnings of $0.77 per share, slightly surpassing analysts' expectations of $0.75. The company's revenue for the quarter stood at $4.85 billion, exceeding forecasts of $4.78 billion, marking a 5.2% uplift compared to last year.

Dividend Information

Charles Schwab has also declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid out on August 23rd to shareholders of record as of August 9th. The dividend stood at $0.25, representing an annualized figure of $1.00 with a yield of 1.39%. The firm's payout ratio is noted at 41.49%.

About Charles Schwab

The Charles Schwab Corporation is a holding company involved in wealth management and securities brokerage, offering an array of financial services both in the U.S. and globally. It operates across two primary segments: Investor Services and Advisor Services.

options, trading, volume