Brokerages Set Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Price Target at $121.80

Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the seventeen research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $121.80.

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 25th. HSBC cut Morgan Stanley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $128.00 to $131.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $108.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th.

Morgan Stanley Trading Down 0.0 %

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $125.72 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $202.54 billion, a PE ratio of 19.14, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.35. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $83.09 and a 12 month high of $136.24. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $127.26 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $111.09. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.57 by $0.31. The company had revenue of $15.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.27 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 10.64% and a return on equity of 12.58%. Analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 7.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st were issued a $0.925 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.94%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is presently 56.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.17, for a total value of $7,150,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 138,363 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,488,718.71. This represents a 30.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Morgan Stanley

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 138.1% in the third quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the period. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. Planning Capital Management Corp increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 115.1% during the third quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 357 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares during the period. Finally, DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 385.2% in the third quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 393 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 312 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

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.