Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Receives Consensus Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) have been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the nineteen analysts that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eight have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $98.07.

MS has been the subject of several research reports. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $87.00 price objective (down previously from $94.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Thursday. UBS Group increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 9th. Finally, Cfra lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In related news, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.93, for a total value of $4,396,500.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 400,000 shares in the company, valued at $35,172,000. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 26,655 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.19, for a total transaction of $2,324,049.45. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 286,835 shares in the company, valued at $25,009,143.65. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.93, for a total value of $4,396,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 400,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $35,172,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 302,355 shares of company stock worth $26,753,102 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MS. CGC Financial Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 5,200.0% in the fourth quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 265 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. RVW Wealth LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 77.3% during the 3rd quarter. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc now owns 328 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janiczek Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 810.8% in the third quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 337 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:MS opened at $90.66 on Friday. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $69.42 and a 52-week high of $95.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 0.75. The company has a market capitalization of $147.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $88.92 and a 200 day simple moving average of $84.92.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.33. The company had revenue of $15.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.42 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 9.57% and a return on equity of 10.87%. Morgan Stanley’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.70 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 6.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be given a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 29th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.75%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.93%.

About Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley, a financial holding company, provides various financial products and services to corporations, governments, financial institutions, and individuals in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. It operates through Institutional Securities, Wealth Management, and Investment Management segments.