Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Stock Rated “Hold” in New Coverage at TD Cowen

TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) in a research note published on Thursday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm issued a hold rating and a $210.00 price objective on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on the company. Barclays lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $230.00 to $262.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $235.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 30th. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $260.00 to $236.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Rothschild & Co Redburn increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $183.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, June 25th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $219.43.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

MS opened at $189.96 on Thursday. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $151.84 and a 1 year high of $232.25. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $207.53 and its 200 day simple moving average is $202.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $299.63 billion, a PE ratio of 15.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.65, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.79.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.46 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.89 by $0.57. The firm had revenue of $21.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.67 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 15.65% and a return on equity of 19.31%. Morgan Stanley’s revenue for the quarter was up 27.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.13 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 12.66 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, June 24th that authorizes the company to buy back $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to repurchase up to 5.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Share repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 31st were issued a $1.15 dividend. This is an increase from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.19%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Morgan Stanley

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Purpose Unlimited Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Marquette Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 143.4% in the 2nd quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 129 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the period. Atlatl Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 55.7% in the 2nd quarter. Hughes Financial Services LLC now owns 137 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bayban increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 72.5% in the 1st quarter. Bayban now owns 188 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key Morgan Stanley News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Options traders purchased approximately 26,930 MS call contracts, well above average call volume, suggesting increased short-term bullish positioning. Morgan Stanley unusual options activity
• Positive Sentiment: Jim Cramer recently backed Morgan Stanley after its pullback, highlighting the company’s buyback authorization and long-term prospects. That commentary may be supporting investor confidence, although it is not a fundamental earnings catalyst. Jim Cramer Backs Morgan Stanley After Its Pullback
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s proposal to convert eight Eaton Vance municipal-bond mutual funds, representing nearly $10 billion in assets, into ETFs could support its asset-management strategy and improve product efficiency if shareholders approve the transactions. Morgan Stanley Municipal Fund ETF Conversions
• Neutral Sentiment: TD Cowen initiated coverage with a Hold rating and a $210 price target, implying potential upside from the reported trading level but signaling that the firm sees balanced risk and reward. TD Cowen Initiates Morgan Stanley Coverage
• Negative Sentiment: Pre-earnings analysis points to a challenging Q3 outlook: higher costs and muted investment-banking deal activity could pressure results, even if trading revenue remains relatively strong. Morgan Stanley Stock Ahead of Q3 Earnings
• Negative Sentiment: Erste Group downgraded Morgan Stanley from Buy to Hold, adding to a more cautious analyst tone ahead of earnings. Erste Group Morgan Stanley Downgrade

About Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley is a global financial services firm serving corporations, governments, financial institutions, individuals and other investors. The company provides investment banking and advisory services, including mergers and acquisitions advice, equity and debt underwriting, securities sales and trading, and corporate lending.

Through its Wealth Management business, Morgan Stanley offers financial planning, brokerage, investment advisory and banking services to individual investors, businesses and institutions.