Hsbc Global Res Upgrades Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) to “Strong-Buy”

Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a report released on Friday morning, Zacks.com reports.

MS has been the subject of a number of other reports. Oppenheimer downgraded Morgan Stanley from an outperform rating to a market perform rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of Morgan Stanley from an equal weight rating to an underweight rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $99.00 to $95.00 in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $102.68.

Morgan Stanley Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of MS stock opened at $107.69 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $100.31 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $97.98. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $69.42 and a fifty-two week high of $109.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.96. The stock has a market cap of $175.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.36.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.17. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 11.85%. The firm had revenue of $15.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.32 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.24 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 7.03 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st were paid a $0.925 dividend. This is a boost from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 31st. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.44%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 67.40%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In related news, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 200,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.06, for a total transaction of $21,012,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 150,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,759,000. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Morgan Stanley news, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 200,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.06, for a total transaction of $21,012,000.00. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 150,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,759,000. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 442,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,146,293.88. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 252,000 shares of company stock valued at $26,546,370. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 17.2% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 38,451,051 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,585,561,000 after purchasing an additional 5,631,435 shares during the period. Capital International Investors raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 16.3% in the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 28,481,070 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,681,778,000 after purchasing an additional 3,981,528 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 600.8% in the 1st quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 1,301,835 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $122,581,000 after acquiring an additional 1,116,058 shares during the period. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the first quarter valued at approximately $87,558,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 1st quarter valued at $85,535,000. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.