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

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the eighteen analysts that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $129.87.

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $144.00 to $126.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Morgan Stanley from $129.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $138.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.20, for a total transaction of $1,783,811.40. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 197,444 shares in the company, valued at $26,891,872.80. This represents a 6.22 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.01, for a total transaction of $2,380,175.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 81,440 shares in the company, valued at $11,076,654.40. This trade represents a 17.69 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Morgan Stanley

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Peoples Bank KS purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Curio Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Ancora Advisors LLC grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 104.7% during the 4th quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 264 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 11.6 %

Shares of MS opened at $111.93 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $123.71 and its 200 day moving average is $124.22. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $85.01 and a 12-month high of $142.03. The company has a market capitalization of $180.53 billion, a PE ratio of 14.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.30.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.68. The firm had revenue of $16.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.03 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 14.39%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 25.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.13 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st were issued a $0.925 dividend. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.31%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is presently 46.60%.

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.