Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Citigroup Analyst Says

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) had its target price hoisted by Citigroup from $105.00 to $135.00 in a research note released on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a neutral rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on MS. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $102.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Morgan Stanley from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $107.00 to $142.00 in a research note on Friday, November 15th. HSBC upgraded Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $118.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $114.81.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $133.67 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $215.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.35, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $76.33 and a 12 month high of $136.24. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $116.83 and its 200-day moving average is $105.55.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.57 by $0.31. The firm had revenue of $15.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.27 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 12.58% and a net margin of 10.64%. Equities research analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 7.32 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were given a $0.925 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.77%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 56.32%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director now directly owns 138,363 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,488,718.71. This trade represents a 30.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MS. Creekmur Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 26.6% during the 1st quarter. Creekmur Asset Management LLC now owns 1,066 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $100,000 after buying an additional 224 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.6% in the first quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 60,228 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,671,000 after acquiring an additional 1,524 shares during the period. Comerica Bank boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 0.9% in the first quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 334,715 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,517,000 after acquiring an additional 3,016 shares during the last quarter. KLCM Advisors Inc. increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 21.9% during the 1st quarter. KLCM Advisors Inc. now owns 8,736 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $823,000 after purchasing an additional 1,572 shares during the period. Finally, iA Global Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,171,000. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

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.