Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Given New $130.00 Price Target at Wells Fargo & Company

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) had its price objective lowered by Wells Fargo & Company from $142.00 to $130.00 in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an equal weight rating on the financial services provider's stock.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on MS. Barclays lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $124.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $135.00 to $125.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on Morgan Stanley from $144.00 to $126.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $131.53.

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Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of MS stock traded up $1.52 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $116.85. The company had a trading volume of 7,614,052 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,532,301. The stock has a market cap of $188.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.72, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $129.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $123.97. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $85.01 and a 52-week high of $142.03.

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

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.17%. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.60%.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In other news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $26,891,872.80. This represents a 6.22 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of the business'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 transaction of $2,380,175.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 81,440 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,076,654.40. The trade was a 17.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Morgan Stanley

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MS. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at $82,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Park Square Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at about $46,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth about $129,341,000. Finally, Brucke Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth approximately $228,000. 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.