Morgan Stanley (MS) To Go Ex-Dividend on January 30th

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 30th will be given a dividend of 1.00 per share by the financial services provider on Friday, February 13th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 30th.

Morgan Stanley has raised its dividend by an average of 0.2%per year over the last three years and has increased 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 research analysts expect Morgan Stanley to earn $9.43 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 42.4%.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

NYSE MS opened at $181.61 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $288.64 billion, a PE ratio of 17.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $94.33 and a 12 month high of $192.68. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $177.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $161.87.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.68 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.40. The company had revenue of $17.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.69 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 16.92% and a net margin of 14.09%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.22 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 21,555 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.00, for a total value of $3,966,120.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 171,005 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,464,920. This represents a 11.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Michael A. Pizzi sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.55, for a total transaction of $3,691,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 127,872 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,598,777.60. This trade represents a 13.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 196,223 shares of company stock worth $34,150,220. 0.19% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MS. Caliber Wealth Management LLC KS boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 12.6% during the 4th quarter. Caliber Wealth Management LLC KS now owns 1,927 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $342,000 after acquiring an additional 215 shares during the last quarter. TABR Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth about $260,000. Leelyn Smith LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $764,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 28.2% in the 4th quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 659 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $123,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares during the period. Finally, Planned Solutions Inc. acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth about $223,000. 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.