The Goldman Sachs Group Reiterates Neutral Rating for Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed their neutral rating on shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) in a report released on Tuesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They currently have a $105.00 price objective on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on MS. Oppenheimer lowered Morgan Stanley from an outperform rating to a market perform rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. JMP Securities restated a market perform rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from an equal weight rating to an underweight rating and decreased their target price for the company from $99.00 to $95.00 in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $101.73.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE MS opened at $96.64 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $100.58 and a 200 day simple moving average of $96.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.96, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $69.42 and a 1 year high of $109.11. The firm has a market cap of $157.06 billion, a PE ratio of 17.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.37.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $15.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.32 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 11.85%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.24 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 7.03 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st were issued a dividend of $0.925 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 31st. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.83%. This is a positive change from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 67.40%.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In related news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.54, for a total value of $4,261,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 442,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,146,293.88. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Morgan Stanley news, Director Robert H. Herz sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.62, for a total value of $106,620.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 95,908 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,225,710.96. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 40,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.54, for a total transaction of $4,261,600.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 442,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $47,146,293.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 252,000 shares of company stock valued at $26,546,370 in the last 90 days. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Morgan Stanley

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MS. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1,147.6% in the second quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 262 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares during the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the second quarter valued at about $26,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Finally, Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Company Profile

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.