Morgan Stanley Announces Quarterly Dividend of $0.93 (NYSE:MS)

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, January 16th,RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be given a dividend of 0.925 per share by the financial services provider on Friday, February 14th. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st.

Morgan Stanley has raised its dividend payment by an average of 19.1% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 11 years. Morgan Stanley has a dividend payout ratio of 40.5% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Morgan Stanley to earn $8.01 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $3.70 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 46.2%.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MS opened at $137.78 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $221.97 billion, a PE ratio of 20.97, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $128.88 and a 200 day moving average price of $113.31. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $83.09 and a 1-year high of $138.08. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.57 by $0.31. The firm had revenue of $15.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.27 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 12.58% and a net margin of 10.64%. Research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 7.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MS has been the topic of several recent research reports. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $106.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $146.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $108.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $129.40.

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.