Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Friday morning.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $186.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Zacks Research raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $202.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $185.93.

Morgan Stanley Trading Down 2.2%

MS opened at $179.02 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $284.52 billion, a PE ratio of 17.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.20. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $94.33 and a one year high of $192.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.79. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $176.93 and its 200 day moving average price is $161.32.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.28 by $0.40. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 16.92% and a net margin of 14.09%.The company had revenue of $17.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.69 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.22 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 30th will be paid a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 30th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 39.18%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 30,330 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.62, for a total transaction of $5,569,194.60. Following the sale, the insider owned 280,481 shares in the company, valued at $51,501,921.22. This represents a 9.76% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 21,555 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.00, for a total value of $3,966,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 171,005 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,464,920. The trade was a 11.19% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 196,223 shares of company stock valued at $34,150,220. Insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Morgan Stanley

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 645.8% in the second quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 179 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. Olistico Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. WFA of San Diego LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 65.2% during the 3rd quarter. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. now owns 185 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Morgan Stanley this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley was named one of the lead banks on the highly visible SpaceX IPO, which should generate sizable investment?banking fees and boost confidence in MS’s deal pipeline. Elon Musk’s SpaceX lines up 4 banks for blockbuster IPO
• Positive Sentiment: Q4 fundamentals remain supportive — MS recently beat on EPS and revenue, announced a $1.00 quarterly dividend (ex?div Jan 30), and has strong ROE metrics cited by analysts; those fundamentals underpin longer?term investor support. Morgan Stanley stock page / Q4 results & dividend
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley Wealth Management staff publicly urged clients not to panic?sell, messaging designed to stabilize flows and sentiment among retail/wealth clients. That communication can help limit outflows and calm short?term volatility. ‘Don’t Get Off the Rodeo Bull’: Morgan Stanley Warns Investors Not to Panic Sell
• Neutral Sentiment: Research action from MS — the firm cut Oracle’s target ~30% citing AI infra concerns. This is a research call on a large tech name (shows MS positioning/opinion) but is not a direct company fundamental change for MS itself. Oracle target cut by Morgan Stanley
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple senior Morgan Stanley insiders filed Form 4s this week (large sales by executives including Michael Pizzi, Andrew Saperstein, Eric Grossman, Sharon Yeshaya and others). Concentrated insider selling can add short?term supply and raise investor caution. Insider sale SEC filing (example)

About Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) is a global financial services firm headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1935 by Henry S. Morgan and Harold Stanley, the company provides a broad range of investment banking, securities, wealth management and investment management services to corporations, governments, institutions and individual investors. Leadership has been guided by a senior executive team and board of directors; James P. Gorman has served as the company’s chief executive and chairman in recent years.

The firm’s primary business activities are organized around three principal businesses: Institutional Securities, Wealth Management and Investment Management.