Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Price Target Raised to $155.00 at Citigroup

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) had its target price upped by Citigroup from $130.00 to $155.00 in a research note published on Friday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has a neutral rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Morgan Stanley from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $127.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $142.00.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 0.7%

MS opened at $160.13 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $255.62 billion, a PE ratio of 18.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.33. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $148.67 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $132.96. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $94.33 and a 52 week high of $163.98. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30.

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

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is currently 45.30%.

Morgan Stanley announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, July 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to reacquire up to 8.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 29,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.13, for a total transaction of $4,092,770.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 399,105 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,325,688.65. This represents a 6.77% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 43,566 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.97, for a total value of $6,141,499.02. Following the sale, the insider owned 294,250 shares in the company, valued at approximately $41,480,422.50. This trade represents a 12.90% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 148,149 shares of company stock worth $20,841,628 in the last quarter. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Morgan Stanley

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 645.8% during the second quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 179 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. WFA of San Diego LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the second quarter worth $28,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 111.0% during the first quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 211 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the second quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the first quarter worth about $27,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.