BMO Capital Markets Raises Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Price Target to $118.00

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) had its target price upped by BMO Capital Markets from $116.00 to $118.00 in a research note published on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an outperform rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $116.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Cfra increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $91.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $101.18.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 2.6 %

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $102.09 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $165.91 billion, a PE ratio of 18.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.97, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.77. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $99.23 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $92.89. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $69.42 and a twelve month high of $109.11.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $15.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.32 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 11.90%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.24 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st will be issued a $0.925 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 31st. This is an increase from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.62%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is 67.40%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.54, for a total value of $4,261,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 442,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,146,293.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.54, for a total transaction of $4,261,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 442,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,146,293.88. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Mandell Crawley sold 6,954 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.61, for a total transaction of $692,687.94. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 46,274 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,609,353.14. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 255,454 shares of company stock valued at $26,870,683 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Morgan Stanley

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. CGC Financial Services LLC increased 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. Bank & Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Finally, Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. 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.