Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Upgraded to Strong-Buy at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a report released on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on MS. HSBC boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $190.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Daiwa Securities Group upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $175.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $243.00 price target on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Monday, July 20th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Morgan Stanley from $225.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $224.75.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock opened at $216.93 on Monday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $217.02 and its 200-day simple moving average is $194.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.65. The firm has a market cap of $342.17 billion, a PE ratio of 17.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.22. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $145.65 and a 52 week high of $232.25.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.89 by $0.57. The firm had revenue of $21.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.67 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 15.65% and a return on equity of 19.31%. Morgan Stanley’s revenue was up 27.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.13 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 12.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 31st were given a dividend of $1.15 per share. This is an increase from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 31st. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.19%.

Morgan Stanley declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, June 24th that allows the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to buy up to 5.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Morgan Stanley

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Purpose Unlimited Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Motiv8 Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Marquette Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 143.4% in the 2nd quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 129 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the period. Atlatl Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the second quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, WFA of San Diego LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Morgan Stanley this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrade: Zacks upgraded Morgan Stanley to Rank #1, or “Strong Buy,” citing improving earnings prospects. The call reinforces the bullish view following the company’s latest quarterly earnings beat, when revenue and EPS exceeded consensus estimates. Morgan Stanley Upgraded to Strong Buy
• Positive Sentiment: Wealth-management expansion: Morgan Stanley is exploring a broader international wealth-management push, potentially expanding its addressable client base and generating longer-term fee-based revenue growth. Morgan Stanley’s Bobby Singh: Why We Are Exploring an International Wealth Push
• Positive Sentiment: Capital-markets backdrop: Morgan Stanley expects tighter oil markets and potentially higher gold prices, conditions that could increase trading, commodities and advisory activity. The benefit is indirect and depends on market volatility and client activity. Oil tightens as Morgan Stanley sees Brent hitting $100
• Neutral Sentiment: Preferred dividends declared: Regular dividends on Morgan Stanley’s preferred-stock series highlight continued distributions to income investors, but they do not directly increase common-stock earnings or dividends. Morgan Stanley Declares Preferred Dividends
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation and legal risks: Morgan Stanley’s roughly 45% one-year gain has left investors questioning whether the shares are fully valued. Rising expenses and cyclical trading revenue could constrain additional gains, while lawsuits concerning banks’ roles in leveraged buyouts create a potential liability overhang. Morgan Stanley Gains 45.1% in a Year
• Negative Sentiment: Higher-yield environment: Morgan Stanley warns that bond yields could become higher and more volatile in a postwar-style economic regime. Although volatility can aid trading, persistently high yields may pressure valuations, deal activity and wealth-management asset flows. Morgan Stanley warns bond yields could rise

Morgan Stanley Company Profile

Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) is a global financial services firm headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1935 by Henry S. Morgan and Harold Stanley, the company provides a broad range of investment banking, securities, wealth management and investment management services to corporations, governments, institutions and individual investors. Leadership has been guided by a senior executive team and board of directors; James P. Gorman has served as the company’s chief executive and chairman in recent years.

The firm’s primary business activities are organized around three principal businesses: Institutional Securities, Wealth Management and Investment Management.