Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) PT Raised to $121.00 at The Goldman Sachs Group

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) had its target price lifted by The Goldman Sachs Group from $106.00 to $121.00 in a report issued on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a neutral rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on MS. Oppenheimer lowered shares of Morgan Stanley from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $108.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on Morgan Stanley from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $107.56.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE MS opened at $121.06 on Thursday. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $69.42 and a 52-week high of $121.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.96, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78. The business has a fifty day moving average of $103.38 and a two-hundred day moving average of $99.34. The stock has a market cap of $196.74 billion, a PE ratio of 22.05, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.36.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.925 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.06%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.40%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other news, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.17, for a total transaction of $7,150,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 138,363 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,488,718.71. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Mandell Crawley sold 3,500 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.25, for a total transaction of $368,375.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 43,224 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,549,326. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.17, for a total value of $7,150,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 138,363 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,488,718.71. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Morgan Stanley

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Capital International Investors lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 16.3% in the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 28,481,070 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,681,778,000 after buying an additional 3,981,528 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 12,875,677 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,251,387,000 after acquiring an additional 303,654 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 10,597,493 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,029,970,000 after purchasing an additional 212,551 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 8,834,372 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $858,573,000 after purchasing an additional 242,896 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 7,151,492 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $672,969,000 after purchasing an additional 57,104 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.