Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) was upgraded by analysts at TheStreet from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued on Monday.
A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on MS. BMO Capital Markets set a $46.00 price target on Morgan Stanley and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 20th. UBS AG increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 21st. RBC Capital Markets set a $32.00 price target on Morgan Stanley and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 21st. Nomura reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $34.00 price target on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Friday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $27.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. The company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $32.82.
Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) traded up 0.34% on Monday, reaching $29.23. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 15,019,480 shares. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $21.16 and a 12 month high of $39.45. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $26.45 and its 200 day moving average price is $25.89. The company has a market cap of $56.06 billion and a P/E ratio of 13.52.
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 29th will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This is an increase from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 27th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.74%.
In related news, insider Jeffrey S. Brodsky sold 19,955 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.79, for a total value of $574,504.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 123,710 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,561,610.90. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 24,952 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.21, for a total transaction of $703,895.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 180,212 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,083,780.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.
A number of hedge funds and institutional investors have added to or reduced their stakes in MS. State Street Corp raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 15.3% in the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 158,338,614 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,960,055,000 after buying an additional 20,974,063 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 17.5% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 129,917,922 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,132,689,000 after buying an additional 19,370,044 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth $309,742,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 37.0% in the first quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 27,280,507 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $682,293,000 after buying an additional 7,374,633 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Third Point LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth $95,430,000.
Morgan Stanley is a financial holding company. The Company is a global financial services firm that, through its subsidiaries and affiliates, advises, and originates, trades, manages and distributes capital for, governments, institutions and individuals. Its segments include Institutional Securities, Wealth Management and Investment Management.
