Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Price Target Raised to $101.00 at Oppenheimer

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) had its target price lifted by Oppenheimer from $97.00 to $101.00 in a research note published on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. Oppenheimer currently has an outperform rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Royal Bank of Canada restated a sector perform rating and set a $91.00 target price on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Cfra raised their target price on Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a neutral rating and set a $87.00 target price (down previously from $94.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. UBS Group raised their target price on Morgan Stanley from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Tuesday, January 9th. Finally, TheStreet upgraded Morgan Stanley from a c+ rating to a b rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $96.13.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of MS stock opened at $90.08 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $88.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $84.81. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89. The firm has a market cap of $146.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.42, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.43. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $69.42 and a 12 month high of $95.57.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.33. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 10.36% and a net margin of 9.49%. The firm had revenue of $15.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.42 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.70 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 6.36 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be given a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.77%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is presently 65.76%.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In related news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 10,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.13, for a total value of $841,300.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 323,490 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,215,213.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.13, for a total transaction of $841,300.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 323,490 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,215,213.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 26,655 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 286,835 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,009,143.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 201,155 shares of company stock valued at $17,564,394. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. CGC Financial Services LLC increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 5,200.0% during the 4th quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 265 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Main Street Group LTD acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 77.3% during the 3rd quarter. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc now owns 328 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Finally, RVW Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.