Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Shares Cross Above 200 Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) shares passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $109.68 and traded as high as $127.22. Morgan Stanley shares last traded at $127.06, with a volume of 2,902,782 shares traded.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on MS shares. Barclays lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $102.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Hsbc Global Res cut shares of Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $121.80.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $126.08 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $109.68. The firm has a market cap of $204.70 billion, a PE ratio of 19.34, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.35.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.88 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $15.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.27 billion. Equities analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 7.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were issued a $0.925 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.91%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.32%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.17, for a total value of $7,150,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 138,363 shares in the company, valued at $16,488,718.71. This trade represents a 30.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Morgan Stanley

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. DGS Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 28.0% during the 3rd quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 4,331 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $451,000 after acquiring an additional 947 shares during the last quarter. Copley Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the third quarter worth $641,000. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the third quarter valued at $730,000. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 20.5% in the third quarter. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. now owns 35,300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,680,000 after purchasing an additional 6,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 75.2% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,850,848 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $881,493,000 after buying an additional 3,369,520 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

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.