Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Receives $131.27 Average Price Target from Analysts

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) has earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the seventeen brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $131.27.

Several research analysts have weighed in on MS shares. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $146.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.20, for a total value of $1,783,811.40. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 197,444 shares in the company, valued at $26,891,872.80. The trade was a 6.22 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.01, for a total transaction of $2,380,175.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 81,440 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,076,654.40. This trade represents a 17.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Morgan Stanley

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Peoples Bank KS purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 138.1% during the 3rd quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the period. Finally, Curio Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 2.5 %

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock opened at $118.21 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $190.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.35. The company’s 50 day moving average is $131.09 and its 200 day moving average is $122.62. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $85.01 and a twelve month high of $142.03. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.68. The company had revenue of $16.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.03 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 14.39%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.13 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st were issued a $0.925 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.13%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.60%.

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.