Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-six brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, ten have given a hold recommendation, twelve have issued a buy recommendation and three have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $224.75.

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $187.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Zacks Research raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 24th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $183.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 25th.

Institutional Trading of Morgan Stanley

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of MS. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $78,825,883,310. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,736,648,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the second quarter valued at approximately $2,040,227,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 142.4% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,122,060 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $511,723,000 after buying an additional 1,833,844 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cullen Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the second quarter worth $295,482,000. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

MS opened at $202.54 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.65, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $215.07 and a 200 day simple moving average of $199.03. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $151.84 and a 1 year high of $232.25. The company has a market capitalization of $319.47 billion, a PE ratio of 16.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.21.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.89 by $0.57. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 19.31% and a net margin of 15.65%.The company had revenue of $21.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.67 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.13 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 27.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 12.82 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 31st were issued a $1.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 31st. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. This is a boost from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is presently 37.19%.

Morgan Stanley declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, June 24th that authorizes the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to repurchase up to 5.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Key Headlines Impacting Morgan Stanley

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley Investment Management closed its inaugural North Haven Growth & Innovation Fund with $1.3 billion in capital commitments, reportedly above its initial expectations. The fund’s success supports the firm’s asset-management expansion and demonstrates demand for its private-market offerings. Morgan Stanley Investment Management Closes Growth Equity Fund
• Positive Sentiment: The firm plans to convert eight municipal-bond mutual funds containing nearly $10 billion in assets into exchange-traded funds. The move could improve product competitiveness, tax efficiency and client retention as investors continue shifting toward ETFs. Morgan Stanley Shifts Municipal Bond Funds to ETFs
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s spot bitcoin ETF has surpassed $600 million in assets roughly five months after launch, indicating successful distribution and growing demand, although the product’s earnings contribution remains uncertain. Morgan Stanley Bitcoin ETF Tops $600 Million
• Negative Sentiment: The rate-driven selloff raises concerns that higher borrowing costs could reduce lending demand, capital-markets activity and economic growth. Investors may also be taking profits after Morgan Stanley’s strong recent earnings performance, which could make the stock more sensitive to valuation and macroeconomic changes.

Morgan Stanley Company Profile

Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) is a global financial services company that provides investment banking, securities, wealth management and investment management services. The company serves corporations, governments, financial institutions, individuals and institutional investors through a range of advisory, capital-raising, trading and investment-related activities.

Morgan Stanley’s Institutional Securities business offers investment banking services, including mergers and acquisitions advice, underwriting and capital markets services.