Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Price Target Increased to $105.00 by Analysts at Oppenheimer

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) had its price objective increased by Oppenheimer from $101.00 to $105.00 in a research report report published on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an outperform rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on MS. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Cfra raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a sector perform rating and set a $91.00 target price on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $98.30.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $90.83 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $147.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.43. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $69.42 and a 1-year high of $95.57. The company’s 50-day moving average is $89.90 and its 200 day moving average is $85.68.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.33. The firm had revenue of $15.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.42 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 10.87% and a net margin of 9.57%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.70 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 6.77 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be issued a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.74%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is presently 61.93%.

Insider Activity

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 26,655 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.19, for a total transaction of $2,324,049.45. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 286,835 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,009,143.65. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 26,655 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.19, for a total value of $2,324,049.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 286,835 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,009,143.65. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Charles Aubrey Smith III sold 11,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.09, for a total value of $1,009,008.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 126,190 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,368,457.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 237,855 shares of company stock worth $21,084,057 over the last 90 days. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Morgan Stanley

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. CGC Financial Services LLC raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 5,200.0% in the fourth quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 265 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 260 shares during the period. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 77.3% in the third quarter. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc now owns 328 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. First United Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Union Savings Bank raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 62.5% during the 4th quarter. Union Savings Bank now owns 390 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.