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

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

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Royal Bank of Canada restated a sector perform rating and set a $91.00 target price on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $106.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, 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 research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $97.90.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 0.4 %

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $90.66 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $147.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $69.42 and a twelve month high of $95.57. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $88.92 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $84.92.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.33. The firm had revenue of $15.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.42 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 9.57% and a return on equity of 10.87%. The business’s revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.70 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 6.53 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. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.75%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is currently 61.93%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.21, for a total transaction of $9,021,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 414,870 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $37,425,422.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 10,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.92, for a total transaction of $879,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 313,490 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,562,040.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.21, for a total transaction of $9,021,000.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 414,870 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,425,422.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 302,355 shares of company stock valued at $26,753,102. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Morgan Stanley

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MS. FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH now owns 3,131 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $295,000 after buying an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. West Paces Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 10.1% in the 1st quarter. West Paces Advisors Inc. now owns 1,283 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $121,000 after buying an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 4,531 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $423,000 after buying an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 9.9% in the 1st quarter. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO now owns 1,341 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $126,000 after buying an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,024 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $375,000 after buying an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.