Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) PT Raised to $101.00 at Oppenheimer

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) had its price target increased by Oppenheimer from $97.00 to $101.00 in a report issued on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an outperform rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a research report on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $106.00 to $107.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. HSBC upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Barclays upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $102.00 to $116.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley currently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $96.13.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of MS stock opened at $90.08 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $146.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.42, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.43. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $88.73 and a 200-day moving average of $84.81. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $69.42 and a 1-year high of $95.57.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.33. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 10.36% and a net margin of 9.49%. 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 prior year, the firm posted $1.70 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 6.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

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 $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 29th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.77%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is presently 65.76%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.93, for a total value of $4,396,500.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 400,000 shares in the company, valued at $35,172,000. 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 firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.30, for a total value of $8,730,000.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 350,000 shares in the company, valued at $30,555,000. 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 firm’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 completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 400,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,172,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 201,155 shares of company stock worth $17,564,394 over the last 90 days. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Morgan Stanley

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. CGC Financial Services LLC lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 5,200.0% during the fourth 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. bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. RVW Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the third quarter worth $27,000. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 77.3% during the third quarter. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc now owns 328 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares during the period. Finally, Janiczek Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 810.8% during the third quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 337 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.