Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) have received an average rating of “Hold” from the seventeen research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $118.00.

A number of research analysts have commented on MS shares. Hsbc Global Res cut Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $108.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. HSBC downgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $128.00 to $131.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $106.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target 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.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 138,363 shares in the company, valued at $16,488,718.71. The trade was a 30.25 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Morgan Stanley

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 3,748 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $391,000 after buying an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Omnia Family Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.3% during the third quarter. Omnia Family Wealth LLC now owns 3,063 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $319,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the period. Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.8% during the third quarter. Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC now owns 3,642 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $380,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. TFB Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 3.9% in the third quarter. TFB Advisors LLC now owns 2,662 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $277,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the period. Finally, Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA now owns 33,850 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,529,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE MS opened at $131.61 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $212.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.03, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $78.21 and a one year high of $136.24. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $119.29 and its 200 day moving average price is $106.42.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.57 by $0.31. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 10.64% and a return on equity of 12.58%. The business had revenue of $15.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.27 billion. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 7.32 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

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

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.