Citigroup Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Stock

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) had its price target boosted by Citigroup from $105.00 to $135.00 in a research report report published on Monday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on MS. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. HSBC raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $118.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, October 4th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $108.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $106.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $118.00.

Morgan Stanley Trading Down 0.1 %

NYSE MS opened at $131.21 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $211.38 billion, a PE ratio of 19.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a fifty day moving average of $118.71 and a 200 day moving average of $106.14. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $76.33 and a 1 year high of $136.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.57 by $0.31. The company had revenue of $15.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.27 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 10.64% and a return on equity of 12.58%. Research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 7.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st were paid a dividend of $0.925 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.82%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is presently 56.32%.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.17, for a total value of $7,150,200.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 138,363 shares in the company, valued at $16,488,718.71. The trade was a 30.25 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Morgan Stanley

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 75.2% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,850,848 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $881,493,000 after purchasing an additional 3,369,520 shares during the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 9.2% in the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 59,758 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,229,000 after purchasing an additional 5,024 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 6.4% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 85,446 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,907,000 after purchasing an additional 5,135 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 474.3% in the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 21,134 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,203,000 after purchasing an additional 17,454 shares during the last quarter. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 45.0% in the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 15,063 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,570,000 after purchasing an additional 4,674 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.