Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Raises Dividend to $1.15 Per Share

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 31st will be given a dividend of 1.15 per share by the financial services provider on Friday, August 14th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 31st. This is a 15.0% increase from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00.

Morgan Stanley has raised its dividend payment by an average of 0.2%annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 12 consecutive years. Morgan Stanley has a payout ratio of 43.1% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Morgan Stanley to earn $12.62 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $4.00 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 31.7%.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:MS opened at $228.52 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.77. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $135.26 and a 1 year high of $232.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $360.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.70, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.23. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $210.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $188.27.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly 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. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 14.65% and a return on equity of 17.70%. The firm had revenue of $21.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.67 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.13 earnings per share. Morgan Stanley’s revenue was up 27.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 11.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 11,118 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on Monday, April 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.75, for a total transaction of $2,120,758.50. Following the sale, the insider owned 169,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $32,313,622.25. The trade was a 6.16% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 14,690 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at $69,224,370.48. This represents a 3.86% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MS. Marquette Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 143.4% during the 2nd quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 129 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Motiv8 Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Purpose Unlimited Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Community Financial Services Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 297.4% during the 2nd quarter. Community Financial Services Group LLC now owns 151 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 113 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Olistico Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

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.