Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Downgraded by HSBC to Hold

HSBC lowered shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Tuesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They currently have $131.00 price target on the financial services provider’s stock, up from their prior price target of $128.00.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on the stock. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $102.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $108.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $118.00.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

NYSE MS opened at $131.66 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $212.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.04, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $119.29 and a 200-day moving average price of $106.37. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $78.21 and a 52 week high of $136.24.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.57 by $0.31. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 12.58% and a net margin of 10.64%. The company had revenue of $15.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.27 billion. Equities research analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 7.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Morgan Stanley news, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.17, for a total transaction of $7,150,200.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 138,363 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,488,718.71. This represents a 30.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Morgan Stanley

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.1% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 25,240,729 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,621,140,000 after acquiring an additional 269,633 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 22,404,981 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,335,495,000 after purchasing an additional 590,872 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 12,875,677 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,251,387,000 after purchasing an additional 303,654 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 10,597,493 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,029,970,000 after buying an additional 212,551 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.8% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 8,834,372 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $858,573,000 after buying an additional 242,896 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.