Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Receives $98.07 Consensus Price Target from Analysts

Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) have earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the nineteen brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $98.07.

Several research firms recently commented on MS. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 9th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $91.00 price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, TheStreet raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In related news, CFO Raja Akram sold 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.41, for a total value of $393,345.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 93,134 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,140,842.94. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.21, for a total value of $9,021,000.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 414,870 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,425,422.70. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Raja Akram sold 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.41, for a total transaction of $393,345.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 93,134 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,140,842.94. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 252,355 shares of company stock worth $22,356,602. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

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 grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 5,200.0% during the 4th quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 265 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. RVW Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 77.3% during the 3rd quarter. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc now owns 328 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares during the period. Finally, Janiczek Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 810.8% during the 3rd quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 337 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of MS stock opened at $93.86 on Friday. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $69.42 and a 12-month high of $95.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $152.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $89.41 and a 200-day moving average of $85.26.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.33. The company had revenue of $15.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.42 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 9.57% and a return on equity of 10.87%. The firm’s revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.70 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 6.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 29th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.62%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is presently 61.93%.

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.