Morgan Stanley’s (MS) Sector Perform Rating Reaffirmed at Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada reissued their sector perform rating on shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) in a report published on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $91.00 price target on the financial services provider’s stock.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $102.00 to $116.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $89.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 19th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 9th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $106.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Finally, TheStreet raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a c+ rating to a b rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $94.23.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 2.4 %

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock opened at $93.50 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $87.13 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $84.09. The company has a market cap of $152.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.09, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.43. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $69.42 and a 12-month high of $95.57.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $12.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.77 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 9.49% and a return on equity of 10.36%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.31 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 6.33 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 31st were paid a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.76%.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other news, CFO Raja Akram sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.56, for a total value of $584,920.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 97,634 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,158,297.04. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Raja Akram sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.56, for a total value of $584,920.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 97,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,158,297.04. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.13, for a total transaction of $841,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 323,490 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,215,213.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 208,155 shares of company stock worth $18,149,314 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Morgan Stanley

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Continuum Advisory LLC increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 4,531 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $423,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,024 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $375,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. NBW Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 4.2% during the 2nd quarter. NBW Capital LLC now owns 3,025 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $258,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. Pinebridge Investments L.P. boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Pinebridge Investments L.P. now owns 3,134 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $292,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the period. Finally, M&R Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 6.7% during the 4th quarter. M&R Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,020 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $188,000 after acquiring an additional 126 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.