Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) PT Raised to $109.00

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) had its target price boosted by Jefferies Financial Group from $107.00 to $109.00 in a report published on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a research note on Wednesday. JMP Securities reaffirmed a market perform rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $106.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a sector perform rating and issued a $91.00 target price on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a neutral rating and issued a $87.00 target price (down from $94.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $97.90.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

NYSE:MS opened at $90.66 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $147.47 billion, a PE ratio of 16.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.43. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $69.42 and a 12 month high of $95.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $88.92 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $84.92.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.33. The firm had revenue of $15.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.42 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 9.57% and a return on equity of 10.87%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.70 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 6.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.75%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 61.93%.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In related news, CFO Raja Akram sold 4,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.41, for a total transaction of $393,345.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 93,134 shares in the company, valued at $8,140,842.94. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.21, for a total value of $9,021,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 414,870 shares in the company, valued at $37,425,422.70. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Raja Akram sold 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.41, for a total transaction of $393,345.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 93,134 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,140,842.94. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 302,355 shares of company stock worth $26,753,102. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. CGC Financial Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 5,200.0% in the fourth quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 265 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 260 shares during the period. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. RVW Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 77.3% in the third quarter. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc now owns 328 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 143 shares during the period. Finally, Janiczek Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 810.8% in the third quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 337 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Company Profile

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.