Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Given New $125.00 Price Target at Citigroup

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) had its price objective decreased by Citigroup from $135.00 to $125.00 in a report released on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. Citigroup currently has a neutral rating on the financial services provider's stock.

MS has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Erste Group Bank cut Morgan Stanley from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Barclays boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $104.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $144.00 to $126.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $131.53.

Remove Ads

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 2.5 %

Morgan Stanley stock traded down $3.00 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $116.01. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,979,286 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,508,218. The company has a market cap of $187.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $130.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $123.47. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $85.01 and a fifty-two week high of $142.03.

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

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st were issued a $0.925 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.19%. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.60%.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In related news, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.01, for a total value of $2,380,175.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 81,440 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,076,654.40. This trade represents a 17.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.20, for a total transaction of $1,783,811.40. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 197,444 shares of the company's stock, valued at $26,891,872.80. This trade represents a 6.22 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MS. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 0.8% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,711,805 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $491,159,000 after buying an additional 36,120 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 31.7% during the 3rd quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 21,442 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,235,000 after purchasing an additional 5,155 shares during the period. Nwam LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 3rd quarter valued at $380,000. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 9.4% in the third quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 7,176 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $748,000 after purchasing an additional 619 shares during the period. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 21.4% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 247,677 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $25,818,000 after purchasing an additional 43,664 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.