Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Sets New 52-Week High – Here’s Why

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $135.58 and last traded at $135.34, with a volume of 2564230 shares. The stock had previously closed at $131.69.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $106.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Barclays upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Morgan Stanley from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $107.00 to $142.00 in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, HSBC raised Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $118.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, October 4th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $112.94.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 2.5 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The company has a market capitalization of $217.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.57, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a 50 day moving average of $114.66 and a 200-day moving average of $104.68.

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

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were issued a dividend of $0.925 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.74%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 56.32%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.17, for a total value of $7,150,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 138,363 shares in the company, valued at $16,488,718.71. The trade was a 30.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Morgan Stanley

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Edgestream Partners L.P. grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 58.0% during the 1st quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 4,303 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $405,000 after acquiring an additional 1,580 shares during the period. EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 1st quarter valued at $122,000. CreativeOne Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 143.6% in the 1st quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 8,810 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $830,000 after buying an additional 5,194 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 12.6% in the 1st quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10,366 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $976,000 after buying an additional 1,158 shares during the period. Finally, Capital International Inc. CA boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 22.4% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Inc. CA now owns 138,482 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $13,039,000 after buying an additional 25,344 shares during the period. 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.