Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) shares gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $43.33, but opened at $45.14. Morgan Stanley shares last traded at $46.62, with a volume of 17,569,684 shares traded.
The financial services provider reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, topping the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $0.76 by $0.11. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 16.77% and a return on equity of 9.86%. The company had revenue of $9.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.05 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.75 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis.
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.14%. This is an increase from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 27th. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.65%.
Morgan Stanley declared that its board has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, June 28th that allows the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to repurchase up to 6.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.
A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $58.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 20th. Macquarie reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $52.00 target price (up from $51.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Saturday, July 22nd. Credit Suisse Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $49.00 target price (up from $47.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Saturday, July 22nd. Zacks Investment Research upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 24th. Finally, Bank of America Corporation raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Morgan Stanley presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $47.61.
In other news, CFO Jonathan Pruzan sold 25,767 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.68, for a total transaction of $1,202,803.56. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 196,708 shares in the company, valued at $9,182,329.44. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 212,365 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.93, for a total transaction of $9,116,829.45. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 1,389,378 shares in the company, valued at approximately $59,645,997.54. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.
Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 9.1% in the second quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 2,275 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $101,000 after buying an additional 190 shares during the period. Invictus RG acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the first quarter worth approximately $106,000. V Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the second quarter worth approximately $106,000. FTB Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 8.1% in the first quarter. FTB Advisors Inc. now owns 2,605 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $112,000 after buying an additional 196 shares during the period. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the first quarter worth approximately $120,000. Institutional investors own 85.28% of the company’s stock.
The firm has a market cap of $85.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.36 and a beta of 1.63. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $45.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $44.09.
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Morgan Stanley Company Profile
Morgan Stanley is a financial holding company. The Company’s segments include Institutional Securities, Wealth Management and Investment Management. The Company’s Institutional Securities business segment provides investment banking, sales and trading, and other services to corporations, governments, financial institutions and high-to-ultra high net worth clients.
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