HSBC Downgrades Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) to Hold

HSBC lowered shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They currently have $131.00 target price on the financial services provider’s stock, up from their previous target price of $128.00.

Several other analysts also recently commented on the stock. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Morgan Stanley from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $107.00 to $142.00 in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $102.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $118.00.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of MS stock opened at $131.66 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $212.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.04, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.34. The business has a 50 day moving average of $119.29 and a two-hundred day moving average of $106.37. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $78.21 and a 52 week high of $136.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.57 by $0.31. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 10.64% and a return on equity of 12.58%. The company had revenue of $15.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.27 billion. As a group, analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 7.32 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were issued a $0.925 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.81%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is currently 56.32%.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.17, for a total transaction of $7,150,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 138,363 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,488,718.71. This trade represents a 30.25 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Morgan Stanley

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MS. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the second quarter worth about $25,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 1,147.6% during the second quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 262 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 241 shares during the period. Bank & Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Finally, Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the second quarter valued at $29,000. 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.