Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Downgraded by Zacks Research to Hold

Zacks Research cut shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday,Zacks reports.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on MS. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $235.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $243.00 price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $211.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $222.85.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of MS opened at $187.94 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $296.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.19, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.65, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $151.84 and a one year high of $232.25. The business has a fifty day moving average of $210.05 and a 200 day moving average of $201.75.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.89 by $0.57. The company had revenue of $21.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.67 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 19.31% and a net margin of 15.65%.Morgan Stanley’s revenue was up 27.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.13 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 12.77 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, June 24th that allows the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to buy up to 5.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 14th. Investors of record on Friday, July 31st were issued a $1.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 31st. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. This is an increase from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is currently 37.19%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Morgan Stanley

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 1st quarter worth $8,854,000. Diversify Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 201.0% in the first quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 17,559 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,890,000 after acquiring an additional 11,726 shares in the last quarter. Arsenal Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at about $814,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 10.9% in the second quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 294,047 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $61,468,000 after acquiring an additional 28,877 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 9,171,655 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,628,244,000 after acquiring an additional 83,472 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Morgan Stanley News

Here are the key news stories impacting Morgan Stanley this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Upcoming earnings expectations remain solid. Morgan Stanley is scheduled to report third-quarter results on October 14, with analysts expecting approximately $3.10 in EPS and $20.52 billion in revenue. The estimates provide a potential catalyst if the company benefits from resilient wealth-management activity, trading and investment-banking revenue. Morgan Stanley earnings analyst forecasts
• Positive Sentiment: Digital-asset and event-contract initiatives add strategic upside. Morgan Stanley is reportedly testing blockchain-based products through a Digital Asset Lab, including stablecoins, tokenized deposits and money-market funds. The firm is also exploring an event-contract market, potentially expanding its product offering, though these initiatives are still developmental. Morgan Stanley tests DeFi vaults
• Neutral Sentiment: Reported UBS combination talks create both opportunity and uncertainty. Morgan Stanley is reportedly exploring a potential combination with UBS amid pressure on the Swiss bank to strengthen its capital position. Such a transaction could create significant scale, but the reports are unconfirmed and any deal would face substantial regulatory, capital and execution risks. Morgan Stanley UBS merger talks
• Negative Sentiment: Investment-banking sentiment may be weighing on the stock. Morgan Stanley-related coverage cited an AI IPO pricing below its expected range, which may reinforce concerns about IPO and deal-market conditions. Separately, commentary suggested the stock may already reflect the benefits of its Dallas hub investment, limiting the impact of that expansion as a fresh catalyst. Morgan Stanley stocks fall as AI IPO prices below range

Morgan Stanley Company Profile

Morgan Stanley is a global financial services firm serving corporations, governments, financial institutions, individuals and other investors. The company provides investment banking and advisory services, including mergers and acquisitions advice, equity and debt underwriting, securities sales and trading, and corporate lending.

Through its Wealth Management business, Morgan Stanley offers financial planning, brokerage, investment advisory and banking services to individual investors, businesses and institutions.