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

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the nineteen ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $98.07.

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on MS shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $87.00 price objective (down previously from $94.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $91.00 price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Barclays boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $102.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 2nd. Finally, Cfra lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

MS stock opened at $90.66 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $147.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.51, a PEG ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.43. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $69.42 and a 12-month high of $95.57. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $88.92 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $84.92.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.33. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 10.87% and a net margin of 9.57%. The firm had revenue of $15.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.42 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.70 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 6.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be given a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.75%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is presently 61.93%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Raja Akram sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.41, for a total value of $393,345.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 93,134 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,140,842.94. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Morgan Stanley news, CFO Raja Akram sold 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.41, for a total value of $393,345.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 93,134 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,140,842.94. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.93, for a total value of $4,396,500.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 400,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,172,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 302,355 shares of company stock valued at $26,753,102 over the last ninety days. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Morgan Stanley

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Institute for Wealth Management LLC. increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Institute for Wealth Management LLC. now owns 17,578 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,639,000 after acquiring an additional 618 shares during the period. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.2% in the third quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 18,896 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,543,000 after buying an additional 580 shares during the last quarter. Calamos Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 2.9% during the third quarter. Calamos Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $849,000 after acquiring an additional 290 shares during the period. Dakota Wealth Management raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 16.2% during the third quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 12,803 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,046,000 after acquiring an additional 1,785 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hartford Financial Management Inc. boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 17.9% in the 4th quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 917 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $86,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

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.