Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Stock Price Expected to Rise, The Goldman Sachs Group Analyst Says

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) had its price target hoisted by The Goldman Sachs Group from $145.00 to $164.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a neutral rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

MS has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Morgan Stanley from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $127.00 to $160.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Citigroup increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on Morgan Stanley in a research report on Friday. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $180.00 price target for the company. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $149.15.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 1.4%

MS stock opened at $157.40 on Friday. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $94.33 and a fifty-two week high of $163.98. The business’s 50-day moving average is $150.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $134.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78. The company has a market cap of $251.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.32.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.98 by $0.15. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 15.20% and a net margin of 13.06%.The company had revenue of $16.79 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.15 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.82 earnings per share. Morgan Stanley’s revenue was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, July 1st that allows the company to buyback $20.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to reacquire up to 8.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 31st were given a dividend of $1.00 per share. This is an increase from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.30%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 29,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.13, for a total transaction of $4,092,770.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 399,105 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,325,688.65. This trade represents a 6.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Michael A. Pizzi sold 18,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.62, for a total value of $2,531,160.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 136,407 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,181,552.34. This represents a 11.66% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 148,149 shares of company stock valued at $20,841,628 in the last three months. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Morgan Stanley

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MS. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 111.0% during the first quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 211 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 645.8% during the second quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 179 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley during the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. WFA of San Diego LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley during the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Garde Capital Inc. bought a new position in Morgan Stanley during the first quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Hedge funds and other 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.