Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Announces Earnings Results

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The financial services provider reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.68, Briefing.com reports. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 10.64% and a return on equity of 12.58%. The business had revenue of $16.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.03 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.13 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 25.9% on a year-over-year basis.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MS opened at $133.53 on Thursday. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $83.09 and a one year high of $136.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The firm has a market cap of $215.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.32, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.36. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $128.74 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $113.02.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.925 per share. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.77%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 56.32%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MS has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $106.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Bank of America increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $140.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res lowered Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $126.07.

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.