Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Price Target Raised to $130.00 at Citigroup

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) had its target price boosted by Citigroup from $125.00 to $130.00 in a report issued on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Monday, April 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $144.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $138.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $133.62.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 1.8%

Shares of NYSE:MS opened at $132.45 on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $90.94 and a 52-week high of $142.03. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $122.64 and a 200 day moving average of $125.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $212.49 billion, a PE ratio of 15.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.11, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $2.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.39. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 12.98% and a return on equity of 14.98%. The company had revenue of $17.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.81 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.02 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 17.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th were paid a dividend of $0.925 per share. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.79%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.43%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Robert H. Herz sold 800 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.32, for a total value of $95,456.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 96,760 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,545,403.20. This represents a 0.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 10,068 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.65, for a total transaction of $1,124,092.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 199,274 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,248,942.10. The trade was a 4.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 50,868 shares of company stock valued at $6,019,548. Insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Morgan Stanley

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Ethic Inc. grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 35.8% in the fourth quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 162,269 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $20,400,000 after purchasing an additional 42,743 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 499,554 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $62,804,000 after purchasing an additional 14,283 shares during the period. Pamalican Asset Management Ltd purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth about $4,513,000. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth about $5,686,000. Finally, Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 112.0% in the fourth quarter. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC now owns 39,921 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,019,000 after purchasing an additional 21,090 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.