Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Boosts Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Price Target to $145.00

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) had its price target hoisted by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $138.00 to $145.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods currently has a market perform rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other analysts also recently commented on MS. HSBC downgraded Morgan Stanley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $128.00 to $131.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $140.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $108.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $135.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $129.40.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MS opened at $137.78 on Friday. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $83.09 and a 52-week high of $138.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $221.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.97, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $129.05 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $113.67.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.68. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 12.58% and a net margin of 10.64%. The business had revenue of $16.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.03 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.13 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 25.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 7.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.925 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.69%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 56.32%.

Institutional Trading of Morgan Stanley

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Perfromance Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Perfromance Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,004 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $378,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,748 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $346,000 after buying an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Cardinal Point Capital Management ULC lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Cardinal Point Capital Management ULC now owns 2,697 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $339,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the period. Mason & Associates Inc boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Mason & Associates Inc now owns 3,177 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $399,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New Hampshire increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New Hampshire now owns 6,313 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $794,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is owned by 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.