Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Reaches New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) shares reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $129.60 and last traded at $128.68, with a volume of 625651 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $117.81.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Oppenheimer cut Morgan Stanley from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $95.00 to $107.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $106.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $109.24.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 11.6 %

The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $107.61 and its 200 day moving average price is $101.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $213.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.15, a PEG ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.96, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st will be issued a $0.925 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.81%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 56.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In related news, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.17, for a total value of $7,150,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 138,363 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,488,718.71. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Morgan Stanley

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 61.5% in the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 2,505 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $236,000 after acquiring an additional 954 shares in the last quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 1st quarter worth $342,000. Signaturefd LLC increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 6.4% during the 1st quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 23,134 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,178,000 after buying an additional 1,386 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 7.3% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 35,152 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,310,000 after buying an additional 2,403 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Advisory Alpha LLC boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 4.6% in the first quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC now owns 2,644 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $249,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Company Profile

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.