Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the nineteen ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $98.48.

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $102.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $91.00 price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. HSBC upped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:MS opened at $100.57 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $97.45 and a 200 day moving average of $92.16. The company has a market cap of $163.44 billion, a PE ratio of 18.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.97. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $69.42 and a 12-month high of $103.25.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.33. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 10.88% and a net margin of 9.57%. The company had revenue of $15.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.42 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.70 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 6.81 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th were given a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.38%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.93%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.21, for a total value of $9,021,000.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 414,870 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,425,422.70. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.21, for a total transaction of $9,021,000.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 414,870 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,425,422.70. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Charles Aubrey Smith III sold 11,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.09, for a total value of $1,009,008.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 126,190 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,368,457.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 118,154 shares of company stock valued at $10,722,696 in the last quarter. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Morgan Stanley

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MS. Institute for Wealth Management LLC. lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Institute for Wealth Management LLC. now owns 17,578 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,639,000 after purchasing an additional 618 shares during the last quarter. Atalanta Sosnoff Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 8.1% during the 4th quarter. Atalanta Sosnoff Capital LLC now owns 373,686 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,846,000 after purchasing an additional 27,845 shares during the last quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 17.9% during 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 during the last quarter. Evercore Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Evercore Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,274,605 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $118,857,000 after purchasing an additional 48,812 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Avior Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,600 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $615,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares during the last quarter. 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.