Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Announces Quarterly Dividend of $0.85

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) declared a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, April 16th, Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be given a dividend of 0.85 per share by the financial services provider on Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.77%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 29th.

Morgan Stanley has increased its dividend by an average of 32.4% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 3 years. Morgan Stanley has a payout ratio of 46.6% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Morgan Stanley to earn $7.23 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $3.40 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 47.0%.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock traded up $0.94 on Wednesday, hitting $90.08. 9,540,860 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,944,244. The company has a fifty day moving average of $88.65 and a two-hundred day moving average of $84.78. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $69.42 and a one year high of $95.57. The company has a market capitalization of $146.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.75.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.33. The company had revenue of $15.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.42 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 9.49% and a return on equity of 10.36%. Morgan Stanley’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.70 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 6.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MS has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Cfra lifted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Barclays lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $102.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 2nd. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $101.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, TheStreet upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $96.13.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Raja Akram sold 7,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.56, for a total value of $584,920.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 97,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,158,297.04. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.13, for a total value of $841,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 323,490 shares in the company, valued at $27,215,213.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Raja Akram sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.56, for a total transaction of $584,920.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 97,634 shares in the company, valued at $8,158,297.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 208,155 shares of company stock worth $18,149,314. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Morgan Stanley

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MS. Main Street Group LTD purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Coppell Advisory Solutions Corp. purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth about $43,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 408.7% during the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 529 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 425 shares during the period. Finally, Covestor Ltd boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 66.9% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 626 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 251 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.