Cfra Raises Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Price Target to $108.00

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) had its price objective raised by Cfra from $97.00 to $108.00 in a research report released on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on MS. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $91.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. TheStreet raised Morgan Stanley from a c+ rating to a b rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Bank of America raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Oppenheimer lowered their price target on Morgan Stanley from $109.00 to $97.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a neutral rating and issued a $87.00 price target (down previously from $94.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $97.79.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of MS opened at $90.23 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $88.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $84.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $146.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 0.75. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $69.42 and a 52-week high of $95.57.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.33. The business had revenue of $15.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.42 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 10.87% and a net margin of 9.57%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.70 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 6.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be given a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 29th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.77%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 61.93%.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other news, CFO Raja Akram sold 4,500 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.41, for a total value of $393,345.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 93,134 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,140,842.94. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.30, for a total value of $8,730,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 350,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,555,000. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Raja Akram sold 4,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.41, for a total value of $393,345.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 93,134 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,140,842.94. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 191,155 shares of company stock worth $16,723,094. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MS. CGC Financial Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 5,200.0% in the 4th quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 265 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares during the period. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. RVW Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley during the third quarter valued at $27,000. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 77.3% during the third quarter. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc now owns 328 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley during the third quarter valued at $28,000. 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.