By otakuyassine3@gmail.com 
Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS – Free Report) had its target price reduced by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $125.00 to $122.00 in a report published on Monday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the financial services provider’s stock.
A number of other analysts have also issued reports on the company. Bank of America lowered their price target on Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $144.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $120.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $138.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Erste Group Bank lowered Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $129.00.
Read Our Latest Analysis on Morgan Stanley
Morgan Stanley Trading Up 0.9 %
MS opened at $109.04 on Monday. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $85.49 and a one year high of $142.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. The stock has a market cap of $175.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.30. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $121.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $124.45.
Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS – Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $2.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.39. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 14.39%. The firm had revenue of $17.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.81 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.02 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 17.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.
Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.925 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.39%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is currently 43.43%.
Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley
In related news, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.01, for a total transaction of $2,380,175.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 81,440 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,076,654.40. This trade represents a 17.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.20, for a total transaction of $1,783,811.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 197,444 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,891,872.80. The trade was a 6.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.
Institutional Trading of Morgan Stanley
Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MS. Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 6,156 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $774,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the period. 1ST Source Bank raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. 1ST Source Bank now owns 15,925 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,002,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the period. Moors & Cabot Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 4,727 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $594,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 4,408 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $554,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Omnia Family Wealth LLC boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Omnia Family Wealth LLC now owns 3,140 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $395,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
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.
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