Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Price Target Increased to $100.00 by Analysts at HSBC

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) had its price objective boosted by HSBC from $96.00 to $100.00 in a report released on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a hold rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on MS. Bank of America upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Thursday, January 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $89.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, December 19th. TheStreet raised Morgan Stanley from a c+ rating to a b rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Barclays upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $102.00 to $116.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $106.00 to $107.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $94.45.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

NYSE MS opened at $94.16 on Thursday. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $69.42 and a twelve month high of $95.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 0.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $153.98 billion, a PE ratio of 18.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.43. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $87.31 and a 200 day simple moving average of $84.16.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.06. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 10.36% and a net margin of 9.49%. The business had revenue of $12.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.77 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.31 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 6.33 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 31st were given a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, January 30th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.61%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.76%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.13, for a total transaction of $841,300.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 323,490 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,215,213.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.13, for a total transaction of $841,300.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 323,490 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,215,213.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Raja Akram sold 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.56, for a total value of $584,920.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 97,634 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,158,297.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 208,155 shares of company stock valued at $18,149,314. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. CGC Financial Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 5,200.0% in the 4th quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 265 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. RVW Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 77.3% in the 3rd quarter. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc now owns 328 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.