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

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) had its price target boosted by Cfra from $97.00 to $108.00 in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

MS has been the topic of a number of other reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $91.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. JMP Securities restated a market perform rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Barclays upped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $102.00 to $116.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 2nd. TheStreet upgraded Morgan Stanley from a c+ rating to a b rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $89.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 19th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $97.79.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

NYSE:MS opened at $90.23 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89. The company has a market capitalization of $146.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.43. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $69.42 and a 12 month high of $95.57. The business’s 50-day moving average is $88.82 and its 200 day moving average is $84.85.

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

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Raja Akram sold 4,500 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now 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 SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Raja Akram sold 4,500 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now 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 SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.93, for a total value of $4,396,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 400,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,172,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 191,155 shares of company stock valued at $16,723,094 over the last quarter. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Morgan Stanley

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 18,896 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,543,000 after acquiring an additional 580 shares in the last quarter. Calamos Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Calamos Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $849,000 after buying an additional 290 shares during the last quarter. Dakota Wealth Management grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 16.2% during the 3rd quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 12,803 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,046,000 after buying an additional 1,785 shares during the last quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 17.9% during the 4th quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 917 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $86,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares during the period. Finally, Avior Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,600 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $615,000 after acquiring an additional 163 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

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.