Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Downgraded to “Hold” Rating by Zacks Research

Zacks Research downgraded shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

MS has been the subject of a number of other research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $186.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Bank of America increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Dbs Bank increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $185.00 to $220.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $207.00 target price on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Erste Group Bank raised Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $205.95.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 1.1%

MS opened at $203.90 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $182.79 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $177.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52. The company has a market cap of $321.60 billion, a PE ratio of 18.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.22. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $126.35 and a 52 week high of $204.38.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.43 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.02 by $0.41. The firm had revenue of $20.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.23 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 17.70% and a net margin of 14.65%.The firm’s revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.60 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 11.85 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 30th were issued a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 30th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 14,690 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.24, for a total value of $2,779,935.60. Following the sale, the insider owned 365,802 shares in the company, valued at $69,224,370.48. This represents a 3.86% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 51,668 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.59, for a total value of $9,744,068.12. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 282,142 shares in the company, valued at approximately $53,209,159.78. This represents a 15.48% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 77,476 shares of company stock worth $14,644,762 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Morgan Stanley

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Carlson Capital L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,429,000. Allen Capital Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC now owns 4,546 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $748,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Axiom Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 1st quarter worth approximately $230,000. Summitry LLC increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 8.8% during the 1st quarter. Summitry LLC now owns 1,705 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $281,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Groupama Asset Managment grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 293,381 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $48,282,000 after buying an additional 2,871 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Morgan Stanley

Here are the key news stories impacting Morgan Stanley this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley continued to benefit from strong recent earnings, with the company having recently beaten consensus on both EPS and revenue, reinforcing confidence in its operating performance.
• Positive Sentiment: Recent commentary highlighted “record revenue” and rising dividends, which can help attract income-focused investors and support the stock’s valuation. Record Revenue, Rising Dividends—So Why Aren’t Analysts Saying Buy? (MS)
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst coverage remains constructive overall, including multiple buy-equivalent ratings and a recent price target of $610 from Morgan Stanley analyst Manan Gosalia on Broadcom-related coverage, which reflects the firm’s continued visibility across key growth themes.
• Neutral Sentiment: Some articles mention Morgan Stanley in connection with broader market calls and conference sponsorships, which are not direct catalysts for MS shares but keep the firm in the headlines.

About Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) is a global financial services firm headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1935 by Henry S. Morgan and Harold Stanley, the company provides a broad range of investment banking, securities, wealth management and investment management services to corporations, governments, institutions and individual investors. Leadership has been guided by a senior executive team and board of directors; James P. Gorman has served as the company’s chief executive and chairman in recent years.

The firm’s primary business activities are organized around three principal businesses: Institutional Securities, Wealth Management and Investment Management.