Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Announces Quarterly Dividend of $0.93

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, October 16th, Wall Street Journal reports. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st will be given a dividend of 0.925 per share by the financial services provider on Friday, November 15th. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.10%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 31st.

Morgan Stanley has increased its dividend by an average of 32.4% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 11 years. Morgan Stanley has a dividend payout ratio of 47.0% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Morgan Stanley to earn $7.84 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $3.70 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 47.2%.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 0.2 %

MS stock opened at $119.37 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $194.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $106.06 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $100.74. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $69.42 and a one year high of $121.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.96, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 17th. The stock was 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 approximately $16,488,718.71. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on MS shares. Citigroup lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $106.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $102.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $95.00 to $107.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $109.24.

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.