Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Releases Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.39 EPS

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) released its quarterly earnings data on Friday. The financial services provider reported $2.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.39, Zacks reports. The firm had revenue of $17.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.81 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 14.39%. Morgan Stanley’s revenue was up 17.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.02 earnings per share.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MS opened at $108.04 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The company has a market cap of $174.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.30. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $122.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $124.28. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $85.12 and a 1-year high of $142.03.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.925 per share. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.42%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 46.60%.

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Morgan Stanley

A hedge fund recently raised its stake in Morgan Stanley stock. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 10.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,782 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,185 shares during the quarter. Brighton Jones LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $1,607,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MS. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Morgan Stanley from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target 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. Bank of America cut their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $144.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $138.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $129.87.

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.