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

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

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on MS. UBS Group raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 9th. JMP Securities reissued a market perform rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday. TheStreet upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a c+ rating to a b rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a sector perform rating and set a $91.00 price target on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted 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 report on Wednesday, April 17th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $98.07.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

MS stock opened at $90.66 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $88.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $85.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $147.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.43. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $69.42 and a 1 year 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 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 company had revenue of $15.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.42 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.70 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 6.77 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. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be paid a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 29th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.75%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 61.93%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Raja Akram sold 4,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.41, for a total value of $393,345.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 93,134 shares in the company, valued at $8,140,842.94. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Raja Akram sold 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.41, for a total transaction 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.21, for a total value of $9,021,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 414,870 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,425,422.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 302,355 shares of company stock worth $26,753,102. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Morgan Stanley

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. CGC Financial Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 260 shares during the period. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Main Street Group LTD acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 77.3% in the 3rd quarter. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc now owns 328 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. Finally, RVW Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Hedge funds and other 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.