Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Price Target Increased to $135.00 by Analysts at Jefferies Financial Group

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) had its price objective upped by Jefferies Financial Group from $120.00 to $135.00 in a research note released on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Citigroup increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Oppenheimer cut shares of Morgan Stanley from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $107.56.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

NYSE:MS opened at $121.06 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $196.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.36. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $103.38 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $99.38. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $69.42 and a one year high of $121.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.96, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st will be given a dividend of $0.925 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 currently 67.40%.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MS. Godsey & Gibb Inc. grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 13.9% during the 3rd quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 1,964 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $205,000 after acquiring an additional 239 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 9.8% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 112,793 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $11,758,000 after purchasing an additional 10,107 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the third quarter worth $609,000. Buckley Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.9% in the third quarter. Buckley Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,689 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,010,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 75.7% in the third quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC now owns 89,863 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,367,000 after purchasing an additional 38,720 shares during the period. 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.