Brokerages Set Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Price Target at $101.73

Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) have earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the twenty research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $101.73.

MS has been the subject of several recent research reports. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday, July 18th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $105.00 target price on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $91.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $102.47 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $100.24 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $96.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.96, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78. The company has a market cap of $166.53 billion, a PE ratio of 18.66, a PEG ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.37. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $69.42 and a fifty-two week high of $109.11.

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

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st were paid a dividend of $0.925 per share. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.61%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 31st. This is a boost from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 67.40%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Raja Akram sold 7,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.37, for a total transaction of $797,775.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 87,119 shares in the company, valued at $9,266,848.03. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Mandell Crawley sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.25, for a total value of $368,375.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 43,224 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,549,326. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Raja Akram sold 7,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.37, for a total transaction of $797,775.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 87,119 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,266,848.03. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 252,000 shares of company stock worth $26,546,370 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Morgan Stanley

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the second quarter valued at $25,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1,147.6% in the 2nd quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 262 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares during the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Finally, Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.