Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Price Target Raised to $121.00 at The Goldman Sachs Group

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) had its price target upped by The Goldman Sachs Group from $106.00 to $121.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. The Goldman Sachs Group currently has a neutral rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on MS. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $95.00 to $107.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, HSBC upgraded Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $118.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, October 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $107.56.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $121.06 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $103.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $99.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.96. The stock has a market cap of $196.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.36. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $69.42 and a 12-month high of $121.45.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.925 per share. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 67.40%.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.17, for a total transaction of $7,150,200.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 138,363 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,488,718.71. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Mandell Crawley sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.25, for a total value of $368,375.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 43,224 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,549,326. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.17, for a total transaction of $7,150,200.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 138,363 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,488,718.71. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Morgan Stanley

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MS. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1,147.6% during the second quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 262 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares during the period. Bank & Trust Co acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Lynx Investment Advisory bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

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.