Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Sets New 1-Year High at $101.67

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report)'s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $101.67 and last traded at $101.61, with a volume of 1465193 shares. The stock had previously closed at $100.33.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on MS. Cfra upped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. HSBC increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Bank of America increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, TheStreet upgraded Morgan Stanley from a "c+" rating to a "b" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $98.30.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 1.2 %

The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.97. The firm has a market cap of $165.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.41. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $92.83 and its 200-day simple moving average is $88.04.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.33. The business had revenue of $15.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.42 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 9.57% and a return on equity of 10.88%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.70 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 6.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th were given a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.93%.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other news, insider Charles Aubrey Smith III sold 11,200 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.09, for a total transaction of $1,009,008.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 126,190 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,368,457.10. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Charles Aubrey Smith III sold 11,200 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.09, for a total transaction of $1,009,008.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 126,190 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,368,457.10. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Mandell Crawley sold 6,954 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.61, for a total transaction of $692,687.94. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 46,274 shares in the company, valued at $4,609,353.14. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 118,154 shares of company stock valued at $10,722,696. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Morgan Stanley

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Duality Advisers LP purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley in the third quarter worth $1,224,000. Welch & Forbes LLC lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.2% during the third quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC now owns 7,116 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $581,000 after buying an additional 155 shares during the period. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 31.3% during the third quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 8,064 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $659,000 after buying an additional 1,923 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 769.7% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,548 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $126,000 after buying an additional 1,370 shares during the period. Finally, Colonial River Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the third quarter worth $407,000. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.