Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Price Target Raised to $129.00 at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) had its price target lifted by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $124.00 to $129.00 in a report published on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has a neutral rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on Morgan Stanley from $144.00 to $126.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $146.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Citigroup lowered their target price on Morgan Stanley from $135.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Finally, Hsbc Global Res downgraded Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $132.33.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 0.8 %

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $125.25 on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $85.01 and a 12 month high of $142.03. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $130.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $123.51. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14. The firm has a market cap of $202.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.77, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.35.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.68. The company had revenue of $16.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.03 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 14.39% and a net margin of 12.48%. Morgan Stanley’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.13 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st were paid a $0.925 dividend. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Morgan Stanley news, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.01, for a total value of $2,380,175.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 81,440 shares in the company, valued at $11,076,654.40. The trade was a 17.69 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.20, for a total value of $1,783,811.40. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 197,444 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,891,872.80. The trade was a 6.22 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Morgan Stanley

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,711,805 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $491,159,000 after buying an additional 36,120 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 31.7% during the third quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 21,442 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,235,000 after purchasing an additional 5,155 shares during the period. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 9.4% in the 3rd quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 7,176 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $748,000 after purchasing an additional 619 shares during the last quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 18.3% in the 3rd quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,616 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $690,000 after purchasing an additional 1,025 shares during the period. Finally, Summit Trail Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 12.4% during the 3rd quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 10,237 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,067,000 after purchasing an additional 1,131 shares during the last quarter. 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.