Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-three analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $206.2632.

A number of research firms have recently commented on MS. HSBC raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $153.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $210.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 9th. Wolfe Research reduced their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $221.00 to $197.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $219.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th.

Key Morgan Stanley News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s own recent commentary continues to sound constructive on markets, including a bullish call that the S&P 500 could reach 8,300 and a view that AI-related capital spending is supporting the U.S. economy. Article title
• Positive Sentiment: The bank has also been raising or adjusting price targets on several companies tied to growth themes, reinforcing its credibility as a bullish market voice. Article title
• Neutral Sentiment: Investor attention is also on Morgan Stanley’s own stock after a recent earnings beat and strong results, with a Zacks note asking why MS has risen since its last report. Article title
• Neutral Sentiment: There was also a report highlighting Morgan Stanley’s midyear economic outlook, which emphasized “capex over consumption” and suggests the firm sees a mixed but resilient macro backdrop. Article title
• Negative Sentiment: Market sentiment is being weighed by rate and inflation concerns, with higher oil prices and a risk-off tone pressuring equities broadly — a backdrop that can hit financial stocks like MS even when fundamentals remain solid.

Morgan Stanley Trading Down 1.0%

MS opened at $192.51 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $175.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $174.91. The firm has a market cap of $303.65 billion, a PE ratio of 17.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.22. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $123.88 and a twelve month high of $197.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.77.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.43 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.02 by $0.41. The business had revenue of $20.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.23 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 14.65% and a return on equity of 17.70%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.60 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 11.85 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 30th were paid a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 30th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is presently 36.23%.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 11,118 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on Monday, April 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.75, for a total value of $2,120,758.50. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 169,403 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,313,622.25. The trade was a 6.16% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 51,668 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.59, for a total value of $9,744,068.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 282,142 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $53,209,159.78. The trade was a 15.48% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 77,476 shares of company stock valued at $14,644,762 in the last ninety days. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MS. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 12.3% during the 4th quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 502 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $89,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Powers Advisory Group LLC raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Powers Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,443 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $256,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Fielder Capital Group LLC lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Fielder Capital Group LLC now owns 4,216 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $748,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Central Bank & Trust Co. grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Central Bank & Trust Co. now owns 1,767 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $314,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the period. Finally, Howard Financial Services LTD. grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD. now owns 3,579 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $635,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Company Profile

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.