Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Stock Rating Upgraded by HSBC

HSBC upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report released on Friday, MarketBeat.com reports. HSBC currently has $118.00 price target on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on MS. UBS Group raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $91.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a sector perform rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. JMP Securities reiterated a market perform rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $102.68.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

MS stock opened at $107.69 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $100.31 and a 200-day moving average price of $97.98. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $69.42 and a 1-year high of $109.11. The firm has a market cap of $175.01 billion, a PE ratio of 19.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.96.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.17. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 11.85% and a net margin of 10.17%. The business had revenue of $15.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.32 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.24 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 7.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 31st were paid a dividend of $0.925 per share. This is a positive change from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.44%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 67.40%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Mandell Crawley sold 3,500 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.25, for a total value of $368,375.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 43,224 shares in the company, valued at $4,549,326. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.54, for a total value of $4,261,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 442,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $47,146,293.88. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Mandell Crawley sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.25, for a total value of $368,375.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 43,224 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,549,326. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 252,000 shares of company stock worth $26,546,370 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MS. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1,147.6% during the 2nd quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 262 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares in the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the second quarter worth $26,000. Finally, Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the second quarter valued at $29,000. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.