Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Price Target Raised to $106.00

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) had its price objective boosted by The Goldman Sachs Group from $105.00 to $106.00 in a research note released on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a neutral rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. JMP Securities restated a market perform rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Oppenheimer lowered shares of Morgan Stanley from an outperform rating to a market perform rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $116.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $91.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $102.68.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 3.2 %

NYSE:MS opened at $107.88 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.96, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $69.42 and a 1-year high of $109.11. The company has a 50-day moving average of $100.31 and a 200 day moving average of $97.94. The firm has a market cap of $175.32 billion, a PE ratio of 19.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.36.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $15.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.32 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 11.85%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.24 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 7.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 31st were given a dividend of $0.925 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 31st. This is an increase from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.43%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is currently 67.40%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.54, for a total value of $4,261,600.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 442,522 shares in the company, valued at $47,146,293.88. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Morgan Stanley news, CFO Raja Akram sold 7,500 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.37, for a total value of $797,775.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 87,119 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,266,848.03. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.54, for a total transaction of $4,261,600.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 442,522 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,146,293.88. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 252,000 shares of company stock valued at $26,546,370. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Morgan Stanley

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MS. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 1,147.6% during the second quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 262 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 241 shares during the period. Bank & Trust Co purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley during the second quarter valued at $26,000. Finally, Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the second quarter valued at about $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.