Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Hits New 1-Year High After Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Morgan Stanley shares hit a new 52-week high after JPMorgan raised its price target to $187 from $179, helping push the stock to as high as $219.95 intraday.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed but constructive, with the stock holding a Moderate Buy consensus and a Street price target of $206.35; recent target increases from Wells Fargo, Citigroup, and Bank of America also supported the move.
• The company has been buoyed by strong fundamentals and optimism around growth, including a recent earnings beat and commentary from CEO Ted Pick that wealth management could expand to a $10 trillion asset base.

Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high on Monday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on the stock from $179.00 to $187.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley traded as high as $219.95 and last traded at $217.5160, with a volume of 407752 shares. The stock had previously closed at $214.04.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on MS. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $189.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $170.00 to $194.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $206.35.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 11,118 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.75, for a total value of $2,120,758.50. Following the sale, the insider owned 169,403 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $32,313,622.25. This represents a 6.16% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 14,690 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.24, for a total value of $2,779,935.60. Following the sale, the insider owned 365,802 shares in the company, valued at approximately $69,224,370.48. This trade represents a 3.86% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 77,476 shares of company stock worth $14,644,762. Insiders own 0.17% of the company's stock.

Morgan Stanley News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Morgan Stanley this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley CEO Ted Pick said the firm’s wealth management division alone could grow to a $10 trillion asset base, highlighting a bigger long-term opportunity for fees and recurring revenue. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts have been lifting estimates and staying constructive on MS, with recent commentary pointing to better earnings visibility and growth in areas such as AI-enabled equity compensation platforms ahead of earnings. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley strategists said the U.S. stock-market rally could broaden into cyclical sectors, a view that supports a healthier market backdrop for the firm’s capital-markets and trading businesses. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley also remained active on the research side, including a new Hold rating on Cognizant and a price-target raise on Jefferies, which reflects ongoing influence in sector calls but is not directly a catalyst for MS shares. Article Title Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: No major company-specific negative development stood out in the last 24–36 hours, but the stock’s advance may be capped by the fact that recent gains have already pushed it close to its 52-week high.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 119,718,100 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $21,253,554,000 after buying an additional 1,361,940 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 103,854,751 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $18,437,334,000 after acquiring an additional 539,544 shares during the period. Capital International Investors raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 27,321,214 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,343,523,000 after acquiring an additional 167,487 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 27,070,557 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,786,350,000 after acquiring an additional 534,708 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 25,018,335 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,441,505,000 after purchasing an additional 524,189 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 1.7%

The firm has a market cap of $343.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.68, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $193.73 and a 200-day moving average price of $180.97.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.43 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.02 by $0.41. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 17.70% and a net margin of 14.65%.The firm had revenue of $20.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.23 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.60 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 11.85 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 30th were issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio is presently 36.23%.

About Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley NYSE: MS is a global financial services firm headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1935 by Henry S. Morgan and Harold Stanley, the company provides a broad range of investment banking, securities, wealth management and investment management services to corporations, governments, institutions and individual investors. Leadership has been guided by a senior executive team and board of directors; James P. Gorman has served as the company's chief executive and chairman in recent years.

The firm's primary business activities are organized around three principal businesses: Institutional Securities, Wealth Management and Investment Management.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.