Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Announces Earnings Results

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) released its earnings results on Wednesday. The financial services provider reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.98 by $0.15, Zacks reports. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 14.98% and a net margin of 12.98%. The firm had revenue of $16.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.15 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.82 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of MS stock traded up $1.39 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $141.18. 5,832,756 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,633,047. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $90.94 and a 52 week high of $145.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $226.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.57, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.30. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $133.48 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $127.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.11, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total transaction of $4,800,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 335,765 shares in the company, valued at $40,291,800. This represents a 10.64% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert H. Herz sold 800 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.32, for a total value of $95,456.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 96,760 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,545,403.20. This trade represents a 0.82% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A hedge fund recently raised its stake in Morgan Stanley stock. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 10.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 12,782 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 1,185 shares during the quarter. Brighton Jones LLC's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $1,607,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, July 1st that allows the company to buyback $20.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to repurchase up to 8.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on MS shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Morgan Stanley from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $127.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $138.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $136.69.

About Morgan Stanley

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.