Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Price Target Raised to $146.00 at Bank of America

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) had its target price upped by Bank of America from $140.00 to $146.00 in a report published on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also commented on MS. Wells Fargo & Company raised Morgan Stanley from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $107.00 to $142.00 in a report on Friday, November 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $106.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $135.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $125.80.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MS opened at $126.76 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. The firm has a market cap of $204.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.36. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $127.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $112.02. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $83.09 and a fifty-two week high of $136.24.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.57 by $0.31. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 10.64% and a return on equity of 12.58%. The firm had revenue of $15.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.27 billion. On average, analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 7.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were issued a dividend of $0.925 per share. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.32%.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.17, for a total transaction of $7,150,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 138,363 shares in the company, valued at $16,488,718.71. This trade represents a 30.25 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Bank of New Hampshire grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New Hampshire now owns 6,313 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $794,000 after buying an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 3,748 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $391,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Omnia Family Wealth LLC grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 3.3% in the third quarter. Omnia Family Wealth LLC now owns 3,063 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $319,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 2.8% during the third quarter. Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC now owns 3,642 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $380,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TFB Advisors LLC raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 3.9% during the third quarter. TFB Advisors LLC now owns 2,662 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $277,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Company Profile

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.