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. The Institutional Securities segment offers capital raising and financial advisory services, including services related to the underwriting of debt, equity, and other securities, as well as advice on mergers and acquisitions, restructurings, real estate, and project finance. This segment also provides sales and trading services, such as sales, financing, prime brokerage, and market-making services in equity and fixed income products consisting of foreign exchange and commodities; corporate and commercial real estate loans, which provides secured lending facilities and financing for sales and trading customers, and asset-backed and mortgage lending; and wealth management services, investment, and research services. The Wealth Management segment offers financial advisor-led brokerage and investment advisory services; self-directed brokerage services; financial and wealth planning services; workplace services, including stock plan administration; annuity and insurance products; securities-based lending, residential real estate loans, and other lending products; banking; and retirement plan services to individual investors and small to medium-sized businesses and institutions. The Investment Management segment provides equity, fixed income, liquidity, and alternative/other products to benefit/defined contribution plans, foundations, endowments, government entities, sovereign wealth funds, insurance companies, and third-party fund sponsors and corporations through institutional and intermediary channels. Morgan Stanley was founded in 1924 and is headquartered in New York, New York.
Morgan Stanley Stock Up 0.4 %
Shares of MS opened at $91.73 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.38, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $72.05 and a one year high of $109.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $157.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.40, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.41. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $80.55 and a 200 day moving average price of $85.89.
Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.39 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.71 by ($0.32). Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 14.33% and a net margin of 22.76%. The firm had revenue of $13.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $13.50 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.89 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 6.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 15th. Investors of record on Friday, July 29th were given a dividend of $0.775 per share. This represents a $3.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.38%. This is a boost from Morgan Stanley's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 28th. Morgan Stanley's payout ratio is presently 41.89%.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
A number of equities research analysts recently commented on MS shares. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $90.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 1st. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $80.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 28th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $91.00 to $83.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 1st. Credit Suisse Group decreased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 4th. Finally, Oppenheimer decreased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $93.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 15th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $100.75.
