Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Sets New 52-Week High After Analyst Upgrade

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday after UBS Group raised their price target on the stock from $102.00 to $112.00. UBS Group currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley traded as high as $109.13 and last traded at $108.95, with a volume of 1710224 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $107.49.

A number of other research firms have also commented on MS. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. HSBC raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $118.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, October 4th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $91.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $116.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $103.06.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In related news, Director Robert H. Herz sold 1,000 shares of the company’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 value of $106,620.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 95,908 shares in the company, valued at $10,225,710.96. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, Director Robert H. Herz sold 1,000 shares of the company’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 value of $106,620.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 95,908 shares in the company, valued at $10,225,710.96. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Mandell Crawley sold 3,500 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 43,224 shares in the company, valued at $4,549,326. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 252,000 shares of company stock worth $26,546,370. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Morgan Stanley

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1,147.6% during the 2nd quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 262 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 241 shares during the period. Bank & Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. Finally, Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $100.49 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $98.19. The company has a market cap of $177.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.96, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 return on equity of 11.85% and a net margin of 10.17%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.24 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 7.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st were issued a $0.925 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 31st. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.40%. This is a boost from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.40%.

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.