Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Reaches New 1-Year High After Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)’s share price hit a new 52-week high on Friday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock traded as high as $136.56 and last traded at $135.46, with a volume of 18152 shares. The stock had previously closed at $135.81.

The financial services provider reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.57 by $0.31. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 10.64% and a return on equity of 12.58%. The company had revenue of $15.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.27 billion.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st will be paid a $0.925 dividend. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.72%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 56.32%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Bank of America increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $140.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Hsbc Global Res lowered Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $108.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Morgan Stanley from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $107.00 to $142.00 in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $126.53.

Institutional Trading of Morgan Stanley

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in MS. Verum Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at $208,000. Perfromance Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Perfromance Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,004 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $378,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the period. Howard Capital Management Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $165,000. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 6,665.8% in the fourth quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH now owns 289,779 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $36,431,000 after buying an additional 285,496 shares during the period. Finally, Atomi Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 18.0% during the 4th quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 15,220 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,913,000 after acquiring an additional 2,327 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 0.1 %

The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14. The company has a market cap of $219.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.71, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $128.74 and a 200 day simple moving average of $113.15.

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.