Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) have earned an average rating of “Hold” from the eighteen analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $129.87.

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America cut their target price on Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $144.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $129.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $138.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on Morgan Stanley from $144.00 to $126.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Morgan Stanley from $142.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 28th.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 7.6 %

Shares of NYSE:MS opened at $99.75 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $160.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.30. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $127.06 and its 200-day moving average price is $124.08. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $85.01 and a 12-month high of $142.03.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.68. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 14.39%. The business had revenue of $16.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.03 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.13 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st were given a $0.925 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.71%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.20, for a total transaction of $1,783,811.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 197,444 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,891,872.80. The trade was a 6.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.01, for a total transaction of $2,380,175.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 81,440 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,076,654.40. The trade was a 17.69 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Morgan Stanley

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,711,805 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $491,159,000 after purchasing an additional 36,120 shares during the period. IHT Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 8.8% during the third quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,777 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $915,000 after buying an additional 708 shares during the period. Morse Asset Management Inc increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 7.1% during the third quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc now owns 4,424 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $461,000 after acquiring an additional 295 shares during the last quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.6% in the third quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 596,932 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $62,224,000 after acquiring an additional 9,154 shares during the period. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 32.7% during the 3rd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 99,995 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,424,000 after purchasing an additional 24,620 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.