Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Given New $120.00 Price Target at Wells Fargo & Company

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) had its price target trimmed by Wells Fargo & Company from $130.00 to $120.00 in a research note released on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an equal weight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $144.00 to $126.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Erste Group Bank cut Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Barclays raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Citigroup reduced their target price on Morgan Stanley from $135.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $129.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $129.00.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of MS opened at $109.04 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $175.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.73, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.30. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $85.49 and a 52 week high of $142.03. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $121.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $124.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $2.60 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.39. The business had revenue of $17.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.81 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 14.39% and a net margin of 12.48%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 17.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.02 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be issued a $0.925 dividend. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.43%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In related news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.20, for a total transaction of $1,783,811.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 197,444 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,891,872.80. This trade represents a 6.22 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.01, for a total value of $2,380,175.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 81,440 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,076,654.40. The trade was a 17.69 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Morgan Stanley

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.8% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,711,805 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $491,159,000 after purchasing an additional 36,120 shares in the last quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 7.1% during the 3rd quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc now owns 4,424 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $461,000 after buying an additional 295 shares in the last quarter. Sculati Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Sculati Wealth Management LLC now owns 35,013 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,650,000 after buying an additional 655 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 45.0% in the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 15,063 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,570,000 after buying an additional 4,674 shares during the period. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 474.3% in the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 21,134 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,203,000 after acquiring an additional 17,454 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.