Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Hold" from Analysts

Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) have earned an average recommendation of "Hold" from the seventeen brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, five have assigned a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $133.62.

MS has been the subject of several research reports. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $120.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 10th.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 1.8%

Shares of NYSE:MS opened at $132.45 on Thursday. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $122.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $125.22. The firm has a market cap of $212.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.55, a PEG ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.11. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $90.94 and a 12 month high of $142.03.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $2.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.39. The firm had revenue of $17.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.81 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 14.98% and a net margin of 12.98%. The company's revenue was up 17.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.02 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th were paid a dividend of $0.925 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.79%. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio is currently 43.43%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 40,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total value of $4,800,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 335,765 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $40,291,800. This represents a 10.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 10,068 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.65, for a total value of $1,124,092.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 199,274 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,248,942.10. This represents a 4.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 50,868 shares of company stock valued at $6,019,548 over the last ninety days. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 10.2% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,782 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,607,000 after buying an additional 1,185 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1,343.0% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 29,813 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,748,000 after acquiring an additional 27,747 shares in the last quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth approximately $261,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth approximately $580,000. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 6.8% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,112 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,397,000 after purchasing an additional 711 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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