Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Given New $250.00 Price Target at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) had its price target upped by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $225.00 to $250.00 in a research note published on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Dbs Bank increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $185.00 to $220.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Oppenheimer cut Morgan Stanley from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $211.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Argus raised their target price on Morgan Stanley from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Erste Group Bank upgraded Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $219.55.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 4.5%

NYSE MS opened at $218.37 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $211.25 and its 200-day simple moving average is $188.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52. The firm has a market cap of $344.43 billion, a PE ratio of 17.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.23. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $136.17 and a 52 week high of $232.25.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.89 by $0.57. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 15.65% and a return on equity of 19.51%. The firm had revenue of $21.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.67 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.13 earnings per share. Morgan Stanley’s quarterly revenue was up 27.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 11.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 31st will be issued a $1.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 31st. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. This is an increase from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.23%.

Morgan Stanley declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, June 24th that authorizes the company to buyback $20.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 5.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 11,118 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.75, for a total transaction of $2,120,758.50. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 169,403 shares in the company, valued at $32,313,622.25. This represents a 6.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Morgan Stanley

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 40.1% in the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 29,744 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,281,000 after purchasing an additional 8,512 shares in the last quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 679.8% during the fourth quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC now owns 42,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,527,000 after buying an additional 36,963 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 7.5% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 965,323 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $171,866,000 after buying an additional 67,613 shares in the last quarter. BOCHK Asset Management Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,260,000. Finally, Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 11.2% during the fourth quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 646,571 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $116,102,000 after buying an additional 65,246 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Morgan Stanley News

Here are the key news stories impacting Morgan Stanley this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley reported record second-quarter revenue of $21.35 billion and EPS of $3.46, beating Wall Street estimates on strong trading, investment banking, and wealth management results.
• Positive Sentiment: The company raised its quarterly dividend by 15% to $1.15 per share, signaling confidence in cash generation and capital returns.
• Positive Sentiment: Management highlighted record wealth and institutional revenues, along with strong financial flexibility and growing AI-related capital needs, reinforcing the view that core businesses remain healthy.
• Positive Sentiment: Several analysts lifted price targets after the print, including Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raising its target to $250 and keeping an outperform rating, adding to bullish sentiment. Article source
• Neutral Sentiment: Investors are also watching Morgan Stanley’s growing exposure to the AI and IPO boom, including commentary that client demand and capital-markets activity remain favorable for future results.

Morgan Stanley Company Profile

Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) is a global financial services firm headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1935 by Henry S. Morgan and Harold Stanley, the company provides a broad range of investment banking, securities, wealth management and investment management services to corporations, governments, institutions and individual investors. Leadership has been guided by a senior executive team and board of directors; James P. Gorman has served as the company’s chief executive and chairman in recent years.

The firm’s primary business activities are organized around three principal businesses: Institutional Securities, Wealth Management and Investment Management.