Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Price Target Raised to $156.00 at Barclays

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) had its price objective increased by Barclays from $155.00 to $156.00 in a report released on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on MS. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. Citigroup upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 25th. HSBC lowered Morgan Stanley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $128.00 to $131.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $108.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $129.40.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE:MS opened at $137.78 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $221.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.97, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.36. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $83.09 and a 12 month high of $138.08. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $128.88 and a 200 day moving average price of $113.31.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.57 by $0.31. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 12.58% and a net margin of 10.64%. The firm had revenue of $15.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.27 billion. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 7.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st will be given a dividend of $0.925 per share. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.69%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is currently 46.60%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of MS. Peoples Bank KS purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 138.1% in the 3rd quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Planning Capital Management Corp grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 115.1% during the 3rd quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 357 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 191 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.