Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Price Target Raised to $122.00

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) had its target price upped by Royal Bank of Canada from $108.00 to $122.00 in a research report released on Thursday, Benzinga reports. Royal Bank of Canada currently has a sector perform rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on MS. Oppenheimer downgraded Morgan Stanley from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. UBS Group raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $102.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Citigroup raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $107.56.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $121.06 on Thursday. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average of $103.38 and a two-hundred day moving average of $99.34. The company has a market capitalization of $196.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.05, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.36. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $69.42 and a fifty-two week high of $121.45.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st will be issued a $0.925 dividend. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is currently 67.40%.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In related news, insider Mandell Crawley sold 3,500 shares of Morgan Stanley 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 transaction, the insider now owns 43,224 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,549,326. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Mandell Crawley sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.25, for a total value of $368,375.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 43,224 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,549,326. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.17, for a total value of $7,150,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 138,363 shares in the company, valued at $16,488,718.71. This trade represents a 0.00 % 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 hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Godsey & Gibb Inc. increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 13.9% during the third quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 1,964 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $205,000 after acquiring an additional 239 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 9.8% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 112,793 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $11,758,000 after acquiring an additional 10,107 shares during the last quarter. Vest Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the third quarter worth about $609,000. Buckley Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.9% during the third quarter. Buckley Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,689 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,010,000 after acquiring an additional 270 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 75.7% during the third quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC now owns 89,863 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,367,000 after acquiring an additional 38,720 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.