Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) to Issue $0.85 Quarterly Dividend

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, April 17th, Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be paid a dividend of 0.85 per share by the financial services provider on Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 29th.

Morgan Stanley has increased its dividend payment by an average of 32.4% annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 3 consecutive years. Morgan Stanley has a dividend payout ratio of 46.6% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities 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 Stock Performance

Shares of MS stock traded up $0.78 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $89.92. The stock had a trading volume of 6,897,716 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,901,383. The business’s fifty day moving average is $88.65 and its 200-day moving average is $84.78. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89. The firm has a market cap of $146.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.36, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.43. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $69.42 and a 1-year high of $95.57.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.33. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 10.36% and a net margin of 9.49%. The firm had revenue of $15.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.42 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.70 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 6.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In related news, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.30, for a total transaction of $8,730,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 350,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,555,000. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.30, for a total transaction of $8,730,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 350,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,555,000. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.13, for a total value of $841,300.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 323,490 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,215,213.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 208,155 shares of company stock worth $18,149,314. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Main Street Group LTD purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Coppell Advisory Solutions Corp. purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at about $43,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 408.7% during the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 529 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 425 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 66.9% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 626 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 251 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on MS. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $89.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. TheStreet upgraded Morgan Stanley from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $106.00 to $107.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $96.13.

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.