Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) has earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the nineteen research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $109.24.

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on MS. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $106.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Citigroup upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Oppenheimer lowered Morgan Stanley from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In related news, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.17, for a total value of $7,150,200.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 138,363 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,488,718.71. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. LPL Financial LLC grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 17.5% during the third quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 1,656,079 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $172,630,000 after acquiring an additional 247,171 shares during the last quarter. Tradewinds LLC. grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Tradewinds LLC. now owns 57,814 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,027,000 after purchasing an additional 2,662 shares during the last quarter. German American Bancorp Inc. increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 8.0% in the third quarter. German American Bancorp Inc. now owns 77,420 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,070,000 after purchasing an additional 5,738 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.8% in the third quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 50,254 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,238,000 after buying an additional 903 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 5.3% during the third quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 179,126 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $18,672,000 after buying an additional 9,076 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 0.8 %

MS opened at $129.53 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $208.68 billion, a PE ratio of 19.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.34. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $73.96 and a one year high of $133.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.80. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $109.23 and its 200 day moving average price is $102.42.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.57 by $0.31. The business had revenue of $15.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.27 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 12.58% and a net margin of 10.64%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 7.29 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be paid a $0.925 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.86%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 56.32%.

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.