Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Given New $144.00 Price Target at Bank of America

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) had its target price cut by Bank of America from $150.00 to $144.00 in a report released on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the financial services provider's stock.

MS has been the topic of several other research reports. Evercore ISI cut their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $138.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Erste Group Bank cut shares of Morgan Stanley from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $142.00 to $130.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Morgan Stanley from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $124.00 to $129.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $129.87.

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Morgan Stanley Trading Down 7.6 %

NYSE:MS traded down $8.18 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $99.75. The company's stock had a trading volume of 18,867,354 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,652,644. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $127.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $124.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $85.01 and a 1 year high of $142.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $160.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.56, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.35.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.68. The firm had revenue of $16.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.03 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 14.39% and a net margin of 12.48%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 25.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.13 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st were issued a dividend of $0.925 per share. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.71%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.20, for a total value of $1,783,811.40. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 197,444 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $26,891,872.80. The trade was a 6.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.01, for a total value of $2,380,175.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 81,440 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,076,654.40. This represents a 17.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Morgan Stanley

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Peoples Bank KS purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Curio Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Ancora Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 104.7% during the 4th quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 264 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company's stock.

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.