Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the seventeen brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $129.40.

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MS. Bank of America raised their target price on Morgan Stanley from $146.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. Barclays lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $104.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Morgan Stanley from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $107.00 to $142.00 in a research report on Friday, November 15th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Morgan Stanley

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Peoples Bank KS bought a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the third quarter worth $26,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 138.1% in the third quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Planning Capital Management Corp raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 115.1% in the 3rd quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 357 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 1.5 %

MS opened at $137.78 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $83.09 and a twelve month high of $138.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $221.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.97, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $129.05 and a 200 day simple moving average of $113.67.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 12.58% and a net margin of 10.64%. The business had revenue of $16.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.03 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.13 earnings per share. Morgan Stanley’s revenue was up 25.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 7.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.925 per share. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.32%.

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.