Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) has received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the seventeen brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $121.80.

MS has been the subject of several analyst reports. Hsbc Global Res cut Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. HSBC lowered Morgan Stanley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their price objective for the stock 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 company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price 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.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MS opened at $127.06 on Thursday. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $83.09 and a 52 week high of $136.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14. The firm has a market cap of $204.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.35. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $126.37 and its 200 day moving average price is $109.90.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.57 by $0.31. The business had revenue of $15.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.27 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 10.64% and a return on equity of 12.58%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 7.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were issued a dividend of $0.925 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 is currently 56.32%.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In other news, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director now directly owns 138,363 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,488,718.71. The trade was a 30.25 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Morgan Stanley

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MS. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 138.1% in the 3rd quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 174 shares during the period. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the third quarter worth $36,000. Planning Capital Management Corp increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 115.1% during the third quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 357 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 191 shares during the period. Finally, DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 385.2% in the third quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 393 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 312 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

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.