Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Upgraded at HSBC

HSBC upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Friday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has $118.00 target price on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on MS. Barclays raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $116.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a market perform rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday, July 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Oppenheimer downgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from an outperform rating to a market perform rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $102.68.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

NYSE MS traded up $3.31 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $107.88. 5,609,161 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,093,391. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.96. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $69.42 and a 52 week high of $109.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $175.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.36. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $100.31 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $97.87.

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

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st were given a dividend of $0.925 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 31st. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.43%. This is an increase from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is currently 67.40%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.54, for a total value of $4,261,600.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 442,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,146,293.88. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, insider Mandell Crawley sold 3,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.25, for a total transaction of $368,375.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 43,224 shares in the company, valued at $4,549,326. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 owns 442,522 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,146,293.88. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 252,000 shares of company stock worth $26,546,370 over the last three months. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Rockland Trust Co. raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 9,725 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,014,000 after purchasing an additional 364 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 6.4% in the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 253,773 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,453,000 after acquiring an additional 15,311 shares in the last quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 10.9% in the third quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 256,360 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,755,000 after acquiring an additional 25,179 shares in the last quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 14,414 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,503,000 after acquiring an additional 308 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 14.3% during the 3rd quarter. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH now owns 23,469 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,446,000 after purchasing an additional 2,935 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.