Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.57 EPS

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The financial services provider reported $3.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.89 by $0.57, FiscalAI reports. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 14.65% and a return on equity of 17.70%. The company had revenue of $21.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.67 billion.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MS opened at $228.17 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $359.89 billion, a PE ratio of 20.67, a PEG ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.23. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $135.26 and a 1-year high of $232.11. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $209.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $187.94. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 14,690 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.24, for a total transaction of $2,779,935.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 365,802 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $69,224,370.48. The trade was a 3.86% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 51,668 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.59, for a total value of $9,744,068.12. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 282,142 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $53,209,159.78. This trade represents a 15.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 77,476 shares of company stock worth $14,644,762 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Motiv8 Investments LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. WFA of San Diego LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Strive Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley during the third quarter worth approximately $34,000. Swiss RE Ltd. acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Finally, Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth approximately $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $194.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Citizens Jmp restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. Wolfe Research cut their price target on Morgan Stanley from $221.00 to $197.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $183.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $215.20.

More Morgan Stanley News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Expectations are rising that Morgan Stanley will post strong Q2 results, with analysts pointing to better trading activity, firmer investment-banking fees, and improved net interest income as potential upside drivers. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Broader bank earnings optimism is also supporting MS, after major lenders delivered strong Q2 updates and analysts said the sector could surprise to the upside across the board. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Cooling inflation has reduced pressure on interest rates, improving the backdrop for equities and financials ahead of the earnings release. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Several articles are simply previews of Morgan Stanley’s upcoming earnings and dividend setup, reinforcing that the stock is in a wait-and-see phase until the report is out. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Market commentary also noted Morgan Stanley’s own valuation looks stretched after a strong run, which could limit upside if earnings merely meet expectations rather than exceed them. Article Title

Morgan Stanley announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, June 24th that permits the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase up to 5.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

About Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) is a global financial services firm headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1935 by Henry S. Morgan and Harold Stanley, the company provides a broad range of investment banking, securities, wealth management and investment management services to corporations, governments, institutions and individual investors. Leadership has been guided by a senior executive team and board of directors; James P. Gorman has served as the company’s chief executive and chairman in recent years.

The firm’s primary business activities are organized around three principal businesses: Institutional Securities, Wealth Management and Investment Management.