Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Upgraded to Strong-Buy at Hsbc Global Res

Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note published on Friday, Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $116.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. UBS Group upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from an equal weight rating to an underweight rating and decreased their target price for the company from $99.00 to $95.00 in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered shares of Morgan Stanley from an outperform rating to a market perform rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $102.68.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 3.2 %

MS stock traded up $3.31 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $107.88. The stock had a trading volume of 5,609,161 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,093,391. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $69.42 and a 12-month high of $109.11. The firm has a market cap of $175.32 billion, a PE ratio of 19.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.36. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $100.31 and its 200 day moving average price is $97.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.96, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $15.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.32 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 11.85%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.24 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 7.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 31st were given a $0.925 dividend. This is a boost from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.43%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 67.40%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Morgan Stanley news, Director Robert H. Herz sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.62, for a total transaction of $106,620.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 95,908 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,225,710.96. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, insider Mandell Crawley sold 3,500 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.25, for a total value of $368,375.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 43,224 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,549,326. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Robert H. Herz sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.62, for a total transaction of $106,620.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 95,908 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,225,710.96. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 252,000 shares of company stock worth $26,546,370. 0.24% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Morgan Stanley

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of MS. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1,147.6% in the 2nd quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 262 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares during the period. Bank & Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. Finally, Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the second quarter worth approximately $29,000. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.