Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Price Target Raised to $106.00 at Bank of America

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) had its price target raised by Bank of America from $100.00 to $106.00 in a report issued on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 9th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a sector perform rating and set a $91.00 price target on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $102.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Finally, HSBC boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $97.90.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE MS opened at $90.66 on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $69.42 and a 12-month high of $95.57. The company has a market capitalization of $147.47 billion, a PE ratio of 16.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.75. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $88.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $84.92.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 9.57% and a return on equity of 10.87%. The business had revenue of $15.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.42 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.70 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 6.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.75%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 61.93%.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In related news, CFO Raja Akram sold 4,500 shares of the business’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 transaction of $393,345.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 93,134 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,140,842.94. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Raja Akram sold 4,500 shares of the business’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 transaction of $393,345.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 93,134 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,140,842.94. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.21, for a total transaction of $9,021,000.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 414,870 shares in the company, valued at $37,425,422.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 302,355 shares of company stock valued at $26,753,102. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Morgan Stanley

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 3.9% in the first quarter. FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH now owns 3,131 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $295,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. West Paces Advisors Inc. grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 10.1% in the first quarter. West Paces Advisors Inc. now owns 1,283 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $121,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 4,531 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $423,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 9.9% in the first quarter. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO now owns 1,341 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $126,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,024 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $375,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by 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.