Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Stock Passes Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average – Here’s What Happened

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)’s stock price crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $109.68 and traded as high as $127.22. Morgan Stanley shares last traded at $127.06, with a volume of 2,902,782 shares trading hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on MS shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. HSBC cut shares of Morgan Stanley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $128.00 to $131.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $121.80.

Morgan Stanley Trading Down 0.1 %

The stock has a 50-day moving average of $126.52 and a two-hundred day moving average of $110.02. The company has a market cap of $204.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.57 by $0.31. The business had revenue of $15.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.27 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 10.64% and a return on equity of 12.58%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 7.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st were given a dividend of $0.925 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.92%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 56.32%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.17, for a total value of $7,150,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 138,363 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,488,718.71. This represents a 30.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Morgan Stanley

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 34.2% during the 2nd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 102,686 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,980,000 after purchasing an additional 26,190 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 2.7% during the second quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC now owns 7,024 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $683,000 after buying an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 17,353 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,687,000 after buying an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 45.7% during the 2nd quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 7,157 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $696,000 after acquiring an additional 2,245 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tobam boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 85.9% during the 2nd quarter. Tobam now owns 1,335 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $130,000 after acquiring an additional 617 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

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.