Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Raised to "Outperform" at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) from a market perform rating to an outperform rating in a research report released on Wednesday, Marketbeat reports. They currently have $160.00 target price on the financial services provider's stock, up from their previous target price of $127.00.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on MS. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $130.00 target price (up previously from $125.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Erste Group Bank raised Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. Evercore ISI cut their target price on Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $138.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $136.69.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MS traded up $1.51 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $143.06. 5,622,839 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,692,254. The stock has a market capitalization of $229.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.79, a PEG ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.30. The business's fifty day moving average is $131.67 and its 200-day moving average is $126.60. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $90.94 and a one year high of $145.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.11.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $2.60 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.39. The company had revenue of $17.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.81 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 14.98% and a net margin of 12.98%. The business's revenue was up 17.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.02 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, July 1st that permits the company to buyback $20.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire up to 8.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th were paid a dividend of $0.925 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.59%. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio is currently 43.43%.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In related news, Director Robert H. Herz sold 800 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.32, for a total transaction of $95,456.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 96,760 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,545,403.20. This trade represents a 0.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 40,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total transaction of $4,800,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 335,765 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,291,800. This trade represents a 10.64% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 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 corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Alley Investment Management Company LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 75.0% in the first quarter. Alley Investment Management Company LLC now owns 62,469 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $7,288,000 after purchasing an additional 26,763 shares in the last quarter. Ethic Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 35.8% in the fourth quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 162,269 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $20,400,000 after purchasing an additional 42,743 shares in the last quarter. Pamalican Asset Management Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at $4,513,000. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at $5,686,000. Finally, Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 112.0% in the fourth quarter. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC now owns 39,921 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $5,019,000 after purchasing an additional 21,090 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.