Analysts Set Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Price Target at $132.46

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) has received a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the seventeen ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $132.46.

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on MS shares. Erste Group Bank downgraded Morgan Stanley from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Bank of America cut their price target on Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $144.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $135.00 to $125.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $120.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 40,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total transaction of $4,800,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 335,765 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $40,291,800. This trade represents a 10.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 10,068 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.65, for a total value of $1,124,092.20. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 199,274 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,248,942.10. This trade represents a 4.81% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 50,868 shares of company stock valued at $6,019,548 over the last 90 days. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Avior Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,802 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,107,000 after acquiring an additional 395 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 10.2% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,782 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,607,000 after buying an additional 1,185 shares during the period. RFG Advisory LLC grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 13.3% during the 4th quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 2,268 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $285,000 after acquiring an additional 266 shares during the period. CX Institutional grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. CX Institutional now owns 7,604 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $956,000 after purchasing an additional 465 shares during the period. Finally, AM Investment Strategies LLC grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. AM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 20,818 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,617,000 after buying an additional 126 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

MS stock traded down $0.12 on Friday, reaching $126.14. 3,360,802 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,712,607. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $116.92 and its 200 day moving average price is $125.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $90.94 and a 12 month high of $142.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $202.38 billion, a PE ratio of 15.89, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.30.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $2.60 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.39. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 14.39%. The firm had revenue of $17.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.81 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.02 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 17.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th were paid a $0.925 dividend. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.93%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio is currently 43.43%.

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.