Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the nineteen ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $185.9286.

Several research firms recently weighed in on MS. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $183.00 to $219.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. HSBC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $207.00 price target on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Friday, January 16th. Finally, Evercore cut Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 21,555 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.00, for a total transaction of $3,966,120.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 171,005 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,464,920. This represents a 11.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Michael A. Pizzi sold 20,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.55, for a total value of $3,691,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 127,872 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,598,777.60. The trade was a 13.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 129,191 shares of company stock worth $23,736,506 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MS. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 10.2% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,782 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,607,000 after purchasing an additional 1,185 shares in the last quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley in the second quarter valued at $212,000. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 23.6% during the 2nd quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC now owns 7,753 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,092,000 after acquiring an additional 1,481 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.5% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,048,457 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $429,398,000 after acquiring an additional 101,773 shares during the period. Finally, Solstein Capital LLC raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 92.6% in the 2nd quarter. Solstein Capital LLC now owns 493 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 237 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of MS opened at $166.64 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $179.57 and its 200 day moving average is $167.47. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $94.33 and a 12-month high of $192.68. The company has a market capitalization of $264.60 billion, a PE ratio of 16.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.20.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.40. The business had revenue of $17.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.69 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 14.09% and a return on equity of 16.78%. The company’s revenue was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.22 EPS. Research analysts expect 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 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 30th were given a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 30th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.18%.

Key Headlines Impacting Morgan Stanley

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley is pursuing an OCC national trust/charter to custody client crypto assets — a new, fee-bearing service that could expand custody revenue, reduce reliance on third-party custodians and deepen institutional client relationships. Morgan Stanley Applies for National Trust Charter to Hold Clients’ Crypto
• Positive Sentiment: The firm’s equity strategy team reiterated a bullish view on US stocks despite renewed Middle East tensions — messaging that may support client flows into E*TRADE/Morgan Stanley platforms and sustain trading/wealth-management activity. MS research notes geopolitical shocks historically produce only short-lived market drawdowns. Morgan Stanley stays bullish on US stocks despite Middle East tensions, sees healthcare as best defensive bet
• Neutral Sentiment: E*TRADE from Morgan Stanley released its monthly sector-rotation study (client buy/sell flows by sector). That data can signal where retail/DIY flows are concentrating and influence short-term trading revenue and positioning across MS’s retail/wealth business. E*TRADE from Morgan Stanley Releases Monthly Sector Rotation Study
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s research continues to move markets — the firm recently named Nvidia a top chip pick and has adjusted targets on other semiconductor names. Strong, visible research supports MS’s institutional sales/trading franchise but is more of a revenue mix/flow driver than a direct balance-sheet change. Nvidia’s stock is Morgan Stanley’s new top chip pick — replacing Micron
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund (MSDL) commentary and results remain part of the firm’s asset-management ecosystem — attractive yields can draw investor interest but also carry credit/risk considerations for fund performance. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund: 13.5% Yielding Gem To Buy For Pennies On The Dollar
• Negative Sentiment: Macroeconomic/geopolitical risk (Middle East escalation and higher oil) remains a possible headwind — MS says oil would need to double to derail its outlook, but sustained spikes would pressure markets/trading volumes and could hit deal activity and asset-management performance. Investors should watch oil and risk-off moves that reduce fee revenue. Here’s how far oil is away from dragging stocks into a bear market, according to Morgan Stanley

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.