Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Announces Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.39 EPS

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) released its earnings results on Friday. The financial services provider reported $2.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.39, Zacks reports. The company had revenue of $17.74 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.81 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 14.39%. Morgan Stanley’s revenue was up 17.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.02 EPS.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 1.4 %

MS opened at $108.04 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $174.25 billion, a PE ratio of 13.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.30. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $85.12 and a one year high of $142.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $122.52 and its 200 day moving average price is $124.28.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be given a dividend of $0.925 per share. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.42%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is presently 46.60%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.20, for a total value of $1,783,811.40. Following the sale, the insider now owns 197,444 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,891,872.80. The trade was a 6.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.01, for a total value of $2,380,175.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 81,440 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,076,654.40. The trade was a 17.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Morgan Stanley

An institutional investor recently raised its position in Morgan Stanley stock. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 10.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 12,782 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,185 shares during the quarter. Brighton Jones LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $1,607,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MS has been the subject of a number of research reports. UBS Group lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Citigroup lowered their target price on Morgan Stanley from $135.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $138.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $129.87.

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.