Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Upgraded to Moderate Buy at Dbs Bank

Dbs Bank upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) to a moderate buy rating in a research report report published on Wednesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on Morgan Stanley in a report on Friday, October 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $180.00 price target for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $176.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $165.00 to $177.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. UBS Group raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $156.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $171.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $168.23.

Morgan Stanley Trading Down 1.1%

Morgan Stanley stock traded down $1.86 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $163.75. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 6,690,620 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,328,024. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $94.33 and a 1 year high of $171.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $260.25 billion, a PE ratio of 16.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.33. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $159.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $144.79.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.07 by $0.73. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 13.85% and a return on equity of 16.55%. The firm had revenue of $17.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.42 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.88 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Investors of record on Friday, October 31st were issued a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.03%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Edward Pick sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.34, for a total value of $16,434,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 574,986 shares in the company, valued at approximately $94,493,199.24. This represents a 14.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Morgan Stanley

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in MS. Creative Planning increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 46.5% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 423,869 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $67,378,000 after purchasing an additional 134,563 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 19.5% during the third quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 171,557 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,271,000 after purchasing an additional 27,980 shares during the period. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 313.2% in the 3rd quarter. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. now owns 31,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,991,000 after buying an additional 23,800 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 80.5% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 358,793 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $57,034,000 after purchasing an additional 160,052 shares during the period. Finally, SummitTX Capital L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,427,000. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

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.