Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Stock Rating Lowered by Erste Group Bank

Erste Group Bank lowered shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

MS has been the topic of several other reports. HSBC lowered Morgan Stanley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $128.00 to $131.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $104.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Hsbc Global Res downgraded Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $131.27.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 0.1 %

NYSE:MS opened at $118.08 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $190.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.87, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.35. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $85.01 and a 1-year high of $142.03. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $130.92 and its 200 day moving average price is $122.73.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.68. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 14.39% and a net margin of 12.48%. The firm had revenue of $16.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.03 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.13 earnings per share. Morgan Stanley’s quarterly revenue was up 25.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st were issued a $0.925 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.13%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is presently 46.60%.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other news, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.01, for a total value of $2,380,175.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 81,440 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,076,654.40. This represents a 17.69 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.20, for a total value of $1,783,811.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 197,444 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,891,872.80. The trade was a 6.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Morgan Stanley

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MS. Peoples Bank KS acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Curio Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Ancora Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 104.7% during the 4th quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 264 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.