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

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

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a research note on Wednesday. HSBC raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Cfra raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday. JMP Securities reaffirmed a market perform rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a neutral rating and issued a $87.00 price target (down from $94.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $97.90.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 0.4 %

MS stock opened at $90.66 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $88.92 and its 200-day simple moving average is $84.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $69.42 and a 52-week high of $95.57. The firm has a market cap of $147.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.51, a PEG ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.43.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 analyst estimates of $14.42 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.70 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 6.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 29th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.75%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 61.93%.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In related news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 10,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.92, for a total value of $879,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 313,490 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,562,040.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 10,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.92, for a total value of $879,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 313,490 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,562,040.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Raja Akram sold 4,500 shares of Morgan Stanley 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 93,134 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,140,842.94. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 302,355 shares of company stock worth $26,753,102 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Morgan Stanley

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MS. CGC Financial Services LLC boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 5,200.0% in the 4th quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 265 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 260 shares during the period. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. RVW Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 77.3% during the 3rd quarter. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc now owns 328 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janiczek Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 810.8% during the 3rd quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 337 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. 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.