Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Analysts give Morgan Stanley a “Moderate Buy” consensus: 12 analysts rate it a buy, two a strong buy, 11 a hold and one a sell. The average 12-month price target is $224.75.
• Morgan Stanley reported strong quarterly results, with earnings per share of $3.46 versus a $2.89 estimate and revenue of $21.35 billion, up 27.1% year over year.
• The company approved a $20 billion share-repurchase program and raised its quarterly dividend to $1.15, equivalent to a 2.1% annualized yield.

Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) have earned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty-six analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eleven have assigned a hold recommendation, twelve have assigned a buy recommendation and two have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $224.75.

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $225.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Weiss Ratings raised Morgan Stanley from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $211.00 to $233.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, HSBC increased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $190.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MS opened at $218.63 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $344.84 billion, a PE ratio of 17.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.22. The firm's fifty day moving average is $216.97 and its 200-day moving average is $193.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.65, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.79. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $141.03 and a 52 week high of $232.25.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.89 by $0.57. The company had revenue of $21.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $19.67 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 15.65% and a return on equity of 19.31%. Morgan Stanley's revenue for the quarter was up 27.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.13 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 12.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, June 24th that permits the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to repurchase up to 5.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 31st were paid a $1.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 31st. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. This is an increase from Morgan Stanley's previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. Morgan Stanley's payout ratio is currently 37.19%.

More Morgan Stanley News

Here are the key news stories impacting Morgan Stanley this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s strategists said earnings growth is broadening beyond mega-cap technology, favoring quality companies, AI adopters, large-cap financials and consumer discretionary stocks. The outlook supports sentiment toward Morgan Stanley’s own wealth-management and capital-markets businesses. Morgan Stanley Favours Quality, AI Adopters and Financials as Earnings Growth Broadens
• Positive Sentiment: General Atlantic has revived plans for a potential IPO as soon as this year, with JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley involved. A renewed IPO market could increase Morgan Stanley’s underwriting, advisory and trading revenue opportunities. General Atlantic Reignites IPO Plans With JPMorgan, Goldman and Morgan Stanley
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley has reportedly increased exposure to Bitcoin, Ethereum and Solana exchange-traded products, signaling a deeper push into digital-asset offerings. The move could broaden products and fee revenue, although it also introduces additional market and regulatory risk. Morgan Stanley’s Bigger Crypto ETF Bet Might Change The Case For Investing in Morgan Stanley
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley declared regular dividends on several preferred-stock series, payable in September and October. The payments reinforce the firm’s capital-return profile but do not directly change the outlook for common-stock earnings. Morgan Stanley preferred-stock dividend declarations
• Negative Sentiment: The firm also completed roughly $7.54 million of senior unsecured medium-term note offerings with fixed coupons of 4.650% to 5.200%. The issuance supports liquidity and funding flexibility, but adds interest expense and leverage exposure. Morgan Stanley’s Bigger Crypto ETF Bet Might Change The Case For Investing in Morgan Stanley

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Morgan Stanley

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MS. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley in the second quarter valued at $91,164,000. Blue Edge Capital LLC bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the second quarter valued at $200,000. Bamco Inc. NY acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter worth about $2,011,000. Pointe Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter worth about $275,000. Finally, Ancora Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter worth about $96,000. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company's stock.

About Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley NYSE: MS is a global financial services firm headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1935 by Henry S. Morgan and Harold Stanley, the company provides a broad range of investment banking, securities, wealth management and investment management services to corporations, governments, institutions and individual investors. Leadership has been guided by a senior executive team and board of directors; James P. Gorman has served as the company's chief executive and chairman in recent years.

The firm's primary business activities are organized around three principal businesses: Institutional Securities, Wealth Management and Investment Management.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

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