Morgan Stanley (MS) – Analysts’ Recent Ratings Updates

Several brokerages have updated their recommendations and price targets on shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) in the last few weeks:

• 12/6/2024 – Morgan Stanley had its price target raised by analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $100.00 to $104.00. They now have a “neutral” rating on the stock.
• 12/3/2024 – Morgan Stanley had its price target raised by analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $121.00 to $138.00. They now have a “market perform” rating on the stock.
• 11/26/2024 – Morgan Stanley was downgraded by analysts at Hsbc Global Res from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating.
• 11/26/2024 – Morgan Stanley was downgraded by analysts at HSBC Holdings plc from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating. They now have a $131.00 price target on the stock, up previously from $128.00.
• 11/25/2024 – Morgan Stanley had its price target raised by analysts at Citigroup Inc. from $105.00 to $135.00. They now have a “neutral” rating on the stock.
• 11/15/2024 – Morgan Stanley was upgraded by analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating. They now have a $142.00 price target on the stock, up previously from $107.00.
• 10/17/2024 – Morgan Stanley had its price target raised by analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $95.00 to $107.00. They now have an “underweight” rating on the stock.
• 10/17/2024 – Morgan Stanley had its price target raised by analysts at Royal Bank of Canada from $108.00 to $122.00. They now have a “sector perform” rating on the stock.
• 10/17/2024 – Morgan Stanley had its price target raised by analysts at Barclays PLC from $121.00 to $135.00. They now have an “overweight” rating on the stock.
• 10/17/2024 – Morgan Stanley had its price target raised by analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. from $106.00 to $121.00. They now have a “neutral” rating on the stock.
• 10/17/2024 – Morgan Stanley had its price target raised by analysts at Jefferies Financial Group Inc. from $120.00 to $135.00. They now have a “buy” rating on the stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 0.8 %

Morgan Stanley stock traded up $1.03 during trading on Monday, reaching $128.43. 2,267,225 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,996,647. The company’s 50-day moving average is $124.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $108.53. 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 has a 52-week low of $83.09 and a 52-week high of $136.24. The firm has a market cap of $206.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.55, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.35.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.57 by $0.31. The firm had revenue of $15.38 billion during 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, analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 7.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were paid a $0.925 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.88%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.32%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director now owns 138,363 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,488,718.71. This represents a 30.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Morgan Stanley

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. DGS Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 28.0% in the third quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 4,331 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $451,000 after acquiring an additional 947 shares in the last quarter. Copley Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the third quarter valued at approximately $641,000. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the third quarter valued at approximately $730,000. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 20.5% during the third quarter. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. now owns 35,300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,680,000 after buying an additional 6,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 75.2% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,850,848 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $881,493,000 after buying an additional 3,369,520 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

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.