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

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Friday, April 11th, RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be paid a dividend of 0.925 per share by the financial services provider on Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th.

Morgan Stanley has raised its dividend by an average of 19.1% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 12 years. Morgan Stanley has a dividend payout ratio of 39.8% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Morgan Stanley to earn $9.43 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 39.2%.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

NYSE MS traded down $2.59 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $107.85. 2,684,605 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,705,232. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $121.31 and a 200-day moving average of $124.36. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $88.00 and a one year high of $142.03. The stock has a market cap of $173.95 billion, a PE ratio of 13.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $2.60 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.39. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 14.39% and a net margin of 12.48%. The company had revenue of $17.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.81 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.02 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 17.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on MS shares. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Morgan Stanley from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $120.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday. Finally, Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $144.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $129.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.20, for a total value of $1,783,811.40. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 197,444 shares in the company, valued at $26,891,872.80. The trade was a 6.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.01, for a total value of $2,380,175.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 81,440 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,076,654.40. This represents a 17.69 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Morgan Stanley

A hedge fund recently raised its stake in Morgan Stanley stock. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 10.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,782 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,185 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $1,607,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.