Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-four ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $209.50.

Several analysts recently weighed in on MS shares. Wolfe Research cut their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $221.00 to $197.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Citizens Jmp reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $179.00 to $187.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, June 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th.

Morgan Stanley News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Raised its quarterly dividend to $1.15 per share and reapproved a $20 billion share repurchase program, signaling confidence in capital strength and shareholder returns.
• Positive Sentiment: Continued to highlight strength in its core franchise, with recent earnings showing strong revenue and profit growth and analysts still expecting double-digit earnings growth into the next quarter.
• Neutral Sentiment: Several recent articles also quote Morgan Stanley strategists and analysts on broader market themes, including the tech selloff and AI trade, but these comments are not direct operating updates for MS.
• Negative Sentiment: Private-credit redemption pressure is weighing on sentiment, as investors worry that withdrawal limits in Morgan Stanley’s fund could be a sign of broader stress in the sector.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock opened at $212.85 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.77. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $135.26 and a 52-week high of $230.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $335.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.23. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $203.03 and its 200-day moving average price is $184.55.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.02 by $0.41. The firm had revenue of $20.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.23 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 14.65% and a return on equity of 17.70%. The business’s revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.60 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 11.81 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 30th were issued a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 30th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 36.23%.

Morgan Stanley announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, June 24th that authorizes the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 5.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In related news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 51,668 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.59, for a total value of $9,744,068.12. Following the sale, the insider owned 282,142 shares in the company, valued at $53,209,159.78. The trade was a 15.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 11,118 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.75, for a total value of $2,120,758.50. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 169,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $32,313,622.25. This represents a 6.16% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 77,476 shares of company stock worth $14,644,762 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Morgan Stanley

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MS. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at $2,736,648,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 29.1% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 14,917,776 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,648,354,000 after buying an additional 3,364,080 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 142.4% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,122,060 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $511,723,000 after buying an additional 1,833,844 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 119,718,100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $21,253,554,000 after buying an additional 1,361,940 shares during the period. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 2,332.9% during the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,406,495 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $249,710,000 after buying an additional 1,348,683 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

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.