Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) PT Raised to $122.00

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) had its price target raised by Royal Bank of Canada from $108.00 to $122.00 in a report issued on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a sector perform rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on MS. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Hsbc Global Res raised Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $107.56.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of MS opened at $121.06 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $103.38 and a 200 day simple moving average of $99.38. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $69.42 and a 52-week high of $121.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.96, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $196.74 billion, a PE ratio of 22.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.36.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company 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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.06%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is presently 67.40%.

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Trading of Morgan Stanley

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1,147.6% in the second quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 262 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares during the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the second 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 and hedge funds 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.