Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Upgraded to “Strong-Buy” at BMO Capital Markets

BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) to a strong-buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on MS. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $164.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 16th. Citigroup raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Morgan Stanley from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $127.00 to $160.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Saturday, September 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $149.15.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 1.4%

MS stock opened at $157.40 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $150.30 and a 200-day moving average of $134.43. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $94.33 and a fifty-two week high of $163.98. The company has a market capitalization of $251.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.83, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.98 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $16.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.15 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 15.20% and a net margin of 13.06%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.82 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, July 1st that authorizes the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to repurchase up to 8.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 31st were paid a $1.00 dividend. This is an increase from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 45.30%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 29,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.13, for a total value of $4,092,770.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 399,105 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $56,325,688.65. This represents a 6.77% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 43,566 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.97, for a total transaction of $6,141,499.02. Following the sale, the insider owned 294,250 shares in the company, valued at approximately $41,480,422.50. This trade represents a 12.90% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 148,149 shares of company stock worth $20,841,628. 0.19% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Morgan Stanley

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 645.8% during the second quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 179 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. WFA of San Diego LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 111.0% during the 1st quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 211 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter worth $32,000. Finally, MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the first quarter worth $27,000. 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.