Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Reaches New 52-Week High - What's Next?

Key Points

• Morgan Stanley's stock reached a new 52-week high of $145.19 during trading, closing at $144.34 with a volume of over 1 million shares.
• The company recently reported a quarterly earnings of $2.13 EPS, exceeding estimates, and a revenue of $16.79 billion, marking an 11.8% increase compared to the same quarter last year.
• Morgan Stanley announced an increase in its quarterly dividend to $1.00 per share and approved a stock buyback program worth $20 billion, indicating confidence in its stock valuation.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) shares reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $145.19 and last traded at $144.34, with a volume of 1156862 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $143.56.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on MS shares. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $130.00 target price (up previously from $125.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $127.00 to $160.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $138.25.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.11, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The company has a market capitalization of $223.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.76, a PEG ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.30. The company's 50-day moving average price is $136.61 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $128.23.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.98 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $16.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.15 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 13.06% and a return on equity of 15.33%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.82 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be given a $1.00 dividend. This is a positive change from Morgan Stanley's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley's payout ratio is presently 45.30%.

Morgan Stanley announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, July 1st that authorizes the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to reacquire up to 8.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 12,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.12, for a total value of $1,693,440.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 186,420 shares of the company's stock, valued at $26,307,590.40. The trade was a 6.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 43,566 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.97, for a total transaction of $6,141,499.02. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 294,250 shares in the company, valued at approximately $41,480,422.50. This trade represents a 12.90% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 148,149 shares of company stock valued at $20,841,628. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Morgan Stanley

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 10.2% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,782 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,607,000 after acquiring an additional 1,185 shares in the last quarter. Bryce Point Capital LLC purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $523,000. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC now owns 7,758 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $958,000 after acquiring an additional 164 shares in the last quarter. Westpac Banking Corp grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 103.6% in the 4th quarter. Westpac Banking Corp now owns 37,709 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,741,000 after buying an additional 19,185 shares in the last quarter. Finally, World Investment Advisors grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 15.0% in the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 17,319 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,177,000 after buying an additional 2,256 shares in the last quarter. 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.