Citigroup Boosts Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Price Target to $105.00

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) had its target price lifted by Citigroup from $98.00 to $105.00 in a research note published on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. Citigroup currently has a neutral rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Wednesday. HSBC upped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $101.18.

Morgan Stanley Trading Down 2.6 %

Shares of MS stock opened at $102.10 on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $69.42 and a 1-year high of $109.11. The firm has a market cap of $165.93 billion, a PE ratio of 18.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a 50-day moving average of $99.23 and a two-hundred day moving average of $92.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.97, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.77.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.17. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 11.90%. The firm had revenue of $15.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.32 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.24 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 6.84 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 31st will be given a $0.925 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 31st. This is a boost from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.62%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 61.93%.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 200,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.06, for a total value of $21,012,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 150,000 shares in the company, valued at $15,759,000. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Morgan Stanley news, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 200,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.06, for a total value of $21,012,000.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 150,000 shares in the company, valued at $15,759,000. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.54, for a total transaction of $4,261,600.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 442,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,146,293.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 255,454 shares of company stock worth $26,870,683. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Morgan Stanley

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth $958,105,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 17.2% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 38,451,051 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,585,561,000 after purchasing an additional 5,631,435 shares in the last quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at about $512,867,000. Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 16.3% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 28,481,070 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,681,778,000 after purchasing an additional 3,981,528 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Focused Investors Fund L P acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 1st quarter worth approximately $159,714,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

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.