Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Price Target Raised to $135.00

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) had its target price upped by Citigroup from $105.00 to $135.00 in a research note published on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a neutral rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

MS has been the topic of several other research reports. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $108.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $106.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. HSBC raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $118.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $115.63.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 0.1 %

MS stock opened at $131.20 on Monday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $118.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $105.96. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $76.33 and a 1-year high of $136.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $211.37 billion, a PE ratio of 19.97, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.34. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.57 by $0.31. The company had revenue of $15.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.27 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 10.64% and a return on equity of 12.58%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 7.32 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were issued a $0.925 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.82%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 56.32%.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.17, for a total transaction of $7,150,200.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 138,363 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,488,718.71. The trade was a 30.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Morgan Stanley

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MS. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 75.2% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,850,848 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $881,493,000 after acquiring an additional 3,369,520 shares during the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 382.4% in the third quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 1,597,800 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $166,555,000 after purchasing an additional 1,266,600 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the first quarter valued at $87,558,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 22,404,981 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,335,495,000 after purchasing an additional 590,872 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 71.2% during the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 1,370,572 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $140,077,000 after buying an additional 569,789 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.