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

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, October 17th, Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 31st.

Morgan Stanley has raised its dividend by an average of 32.4% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 11 consecutive years. Morgan Stanley has a payout ratio of 48.5% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Morgan Stanley to earn $7.59 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 48.7%.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MS traded down $0.07 on Thursday, hitting $119.44. 9,353,566 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,120,919. The firm has a market capitalization of $194.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.96. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $69.42 and a 1-year high of $121.45. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $102.36 and its 200 day moving average price is $98.96.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $15.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.32 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 11.85% and a net margin of 10.17%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.24 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 6.95 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Mandell Crawley sold 3,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.25, for a total transaction of $368,375.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 43,224 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,549,326. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. JMP Securities reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $95.00 to $107.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $106.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $108.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $107.56.

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.

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