HSBC Boosts Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Price Target to $102.00

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) had its price target increased by HSBC from $100.00 to $102.00 in a report released on Friday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a hold rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on the company. UBS Group lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Barclays lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $102.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a sector perform rating and set a $91.00 target price on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $98.07.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of MS opened at $92.10 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $89.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $85.10. The stock has a market cap of $149.81 billion, a PE ratio of 16.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 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 company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.75.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 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 previous year, the firm posted $1.70 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 6.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.93%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.21, for a total transaction of $9,021,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 414,870 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $37,425,422.70. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.21, for a total transaction of $9,021,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 414,870 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $37,425,422.70. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.93, for a total value of $4,396,500.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 400,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $35,172,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 302,355 shares of company stock valued at $26,753,102. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Morgan Stanley

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.9% during 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 buying an additional 117 shares during the period. West Paces Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 10.1% during the first quarter. West Paces Advisors Inc. now owns 1,283 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $121,000 after buying an additional 118 shares during the period. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO lifted 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 purchasing an additional 121 shares during the period. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC lifted 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 purchasing an additional 122 shares during the period. Finally, Pinebridge Investments L.P. lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Pinebridge Investments L.P. now owns 3,134 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $292,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.