JPMorgan Chase & Co. Lowers Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Price Target to $122.00

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) had its target price trimmed by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $125.00 to $122.00 in a research note released on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a neutral rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $144.00 to $126.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Bank of America dropped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $144.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $120.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $129.00.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

NYSE:MS opened at $109.04 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $175.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.30. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $121.92 and a two-hundred day moving average of $124.45. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $85.49 and a 12 month high of $142.03. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $2.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.39. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 14.39% and a net margin of 12.48%. The company had revenue of $17.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.81 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.02 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be issued a $0.925 dividend. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.39%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.43%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.01, for a total value of $2,380,175.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 81,440 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,076,654.40. This trade represents a 17.69 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.20, for a total transaction of $1,783,811.40. Following the sale, the insider now owns 197,444 shares in the company, valued at $26,891,872.80. The trade was a 6.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Peoples Bank KS purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Curio Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Ancora Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 104.7% in the fourth quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 264 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

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.