Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Given “Market Perform” Rating at JMP Securities

JMP Securities reissued their market perform rating on shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) in a research note published on Thursday, Benzinga reports.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on the stock. TheStreet raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a c+ rating to a b rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. HSBC boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Wednesday. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley presently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $97.79.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $90.23 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $146.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.44, a PEG ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.43. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $69.42 and a one year high of $95.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.75. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $88.82 and a 200-day moving average price of $84.85.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.33. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 10.87% and a net margin of 9.57%. The business had revenue of $15.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.42 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.70 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 6.53 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be issued a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 29th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.77%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 61.93%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Raja Akram sold 4,500 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.41, for a total value of $393,345.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 93,134 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,140,842.94. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Morgan Stanley news, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.93, for a total value of $4,396,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 400,000 shares in the company, valued at $35,172,000. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Raja Akram sold 4,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.41, for a total transaction of $393,345.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 93,134 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,140,842.94. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 191,155 shares of company stock valued at $16,723,094. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Morgan Stanley

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 17.2% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 38,451,051 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,585,561,000 after acquiring an additional 5,631,435 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 8.2% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 24,499,542 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,284,674,000 after purchasing an additional 1,865,645 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 21.2% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 23,474,452 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,917,159,000 after purchasing an additional 4,098,577 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 20,250,725 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,888,380,000 after buying an additional 517,446 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 20,197,232 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,883,392,000 after buying an additional 575,114 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.