Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Price Target Raised to $165.00 at Wells Fargo & Company

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) had its target price boosted by Wells Fargo & Company from $145.00 to $165.00 in a report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also commented on the company. Erste Group Bank raised Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $130.00 target price (up previously from $125.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $127.00 to $160.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $139.92.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 0.5%

NYSE:MS opened at $155.89 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78. The firm has a market cap of $248.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.33. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $94.33 and a fifty-two week high of $158.48. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $145.86 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $130.84.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.98 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $16.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.15 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 13.06% and a return on equity of 15.20%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.82 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. This is a boost from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.30%.

Morgan Stanley announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, July 1st that authorizes the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 8.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Michael A. Pizzi sold 18,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.62, for a total transaction of $2,531,160.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 136,407 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,181,552.34. The trade was a 11.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Charles A. Smith sold 20,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.30, for a total transaction of $2,806,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 119,239 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,729,231.70. This trade represents a 14.36% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 148,149 shares of company stock valued at $20,841,628. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Morgan Stanley

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Meadow Creek Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter. Meadow Creek Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,799 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $394,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Gallagher Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 0.7% in the second quarter. Gallagher Capital Advisors LLC now owns 9,969 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,420,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Great Diamond Partners LLC lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 0.5% during the second quarter. Great Diamond Partners LLC now owns 13,361 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,882,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the period. McLean Asset Management Corp boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 2.5% during the second quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp now owns 3,007 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $430,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bell Investment Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 12.1% during the second quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc now owns 674 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $95,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares in 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.