Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Price Target Raised to $150.00

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) had its target price upped by Evercore ISI from $140.00 to $150.00 in a research note published on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

MS has been the subject of several other reports. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $102.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $106.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Morgan Stanley from $104.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Barclays upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $135.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, HSBC lowered Morgan Stanley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $128.00 to $131.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $129.40.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of MS opened at $137.78 on Friday. 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 $221.97 billion, a PE ratio of 20.97, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.36. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $83.09 and a 12 month high of $138.08. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $129.05 and a 200-day moving average price of $113.67.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.68. The firm had revenue of $16.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.03 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 10.64% and a return on equity of 12.58%. Morgan Stanley’s revenue was up 25.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.13 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 7.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be given a $0.925 dividend. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.69%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 56.32%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Morgan Stanley

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of MS. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 6.3% during the second quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 170,133 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $16,520,000 after purchasing an additional 10,082 shares during the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 6.1% during the second quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 111,229 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,810,000 after purchasing an additional 6,389 shares in the last quarter. GM Advisory Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 5.8% during the 2nd quarter. GM Advisory Group LLC now owns 4,850 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $471,000 after buying an additional 267 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 115.9% in the 2nd quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 17,619 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,713,000 after buying an additional 9,459 shares in the last quarter. Finally, King Luther Capital Management Corp grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 26.7% in the 2nd quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 14,790 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,437,000 after buying an additional 3,116 shares during the last quarter. 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.