Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Sets New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $172.09 and last traded at $172.18, with a volume of 2393605 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $169.09.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $156.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $165.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $173.38.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 1.0%

The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $162.28 and a 200-day moving average price of $148.94. The firm has a market cap of $280.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.22.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.07 by $0.73. The firm had revenue of $17.98 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.42 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 13.85% and a return on equity of 16.40%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.88 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 31st were issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is 41.03%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other news, CEO Edward Pick sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.34, for a total value of $16,434,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 574,986 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $94,493,199.24. The trade was a 14.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Morgan Stanley

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MS. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 111.0% in the 1st quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 211 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the period. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 645.8% during the second quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 179 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. WFA of San Diego LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 65.2% in the third quarter. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. now owns 185 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Morgan Stanley

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.