Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) PT Raised to $109.00 at Jefferies Financial Group

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) had its price target upped by Jefferies Financial Group from $107.00 to $109.00 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on MS. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a research note on Wednesday. Cfra raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday. HSBC raised their target price on Morgan Stanley from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. JMP Securities reiterated a market perform rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, TheStreet upgraded Morgan Stanley from a c+ rating to a b rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $97.18.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $90.08 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $146.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $88.73 and a 200-day moving average of $84.81. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $69.42 and a 52 week high of $95.57.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.33. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 10.87% and a net margin of 9.57%. The company had revenue of $15.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.42 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.70 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 6.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be issued a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 29th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.77%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is presently 61.93%.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.30, for a total value of $8,730,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 350,000 shares in the company, valued at $30,555,000. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.30, for a total transaction of $8,730,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 350,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,555,000. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.93, for a total value of $4,396,500.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 400,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $35,172,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 201,155 shares of company stock worth $17,564,394. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Morgan Stanley

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. West Paces Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 10.1% in the first quarter. West Paces Advisors Inc. now owns 1,283 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $121,000 after buying an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 4,531 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $423,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 9.9% during the first quarter. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO now owns 1,341 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $126,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares during the period. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,024 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $375,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares during the period. Finally, NBW Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 4.2% during the second quarter. NBW Capital LLC now owns 3,025 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $258,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.