Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Price Target Raised to $186.00

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) had its price objective raised by The Goldman Sachs Group from $172.00 to $186.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday morning,MarketScreener reports. The brokerage currently has a neutral rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $207.00 price target on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Friday, January 16th. HSBC dropped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $175.00 to $153.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Evercore dropped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $215.00 to $190.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $173.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $189.94.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 4.6%

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock opened at $176.17 on Monday. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $97.89 and a 52-week high of $192.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $168.46 and its 200-day simple moving average is $169.57. The firm has a market cap of $279.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.19.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.40. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 14.09% and a return on equity of 16.78%. The business had revenue of $17.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.69 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.22 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 30th were given a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.18%.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Michael A. Pizzi sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.55, for a total transaction of $3,691,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 127,872 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,598,777.60. This represents a 13.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Sharon Yeshaya sold 15,838 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.77, for a total transaction of $2,942,225.26. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 135,304 shares in the company, valued at $25,135,424.08. The trade was a 10.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 129,191 shares of company stock valued at $23,736,506 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Morgan Stanley

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Purpose Unlimited Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Motiv8 Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Olistico Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, WFA of San Diego LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

More Morgan Stanley News

Here are the key news stories impacting Morgan Stanley this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley Investment Management launched the Morgan Stanley Bitcoin Trust (MSBT), a spot Bitcoin ETP on NYSE Arca priced with an ultra-low 0.14% fee — the first bank‑affiliated spot Bitcoin product from a major U.S. bank. The fund’s low fee and MS’s advisor network could drive meaningful, durable inflows and incremental fee revenue. Businesswire: MSBT launch
• Positive Sentiment: The MSBT launch gains distribution advantages: Morgan Stanley’s ~16,000 financial advisors and ~$6.2T in client assets create a “captive” channel that analysts and industry commentators say could translate to advisor-directed inflows from day one — a structural advantage versus independent issuers. CoinDesk video/coverage
• Positive Sentiment: Street support: UBS upgraded Morgan Stanley to Buy this morning, citing wealth‑management strength and profitability — the upgrade adds momentum to the stock amid broader bank‑sector volatility. Positive analyst notes can buoy sentiment into earnings. CNBC: UBS upgrade
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley is also moving in private credit (planning new funds/interval offerings) to capitalize on market dislocation — this expands fee opportunities but carries execution and fundraising timing risk. Benzinga: private credit fund
• Neutral Sentiment: Upcoming earnings (mid‑April) and some estimate revisions are in focus — incremental analyst EPS upgrades (Erste) and commentary about momentum set expectations that investors will check next results for the impact of product launches and wealth‑management flows.
• Negative Sentiment: Offsetting analyst moves: a few firms trimmed price targets or issued cautious notes (Evercore, BMO, Daiwa) — these mixed research actions create some short‑term target dispersion and could cap upside if macro/headline risk rises. AmericanBankingNews: Evercore/BMO notes

About Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) is a global financial services firm headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1935 by Henry S. Morgan and Harold Stanley, the company provides a broad range of investment banking, securities, wealth management and investment management services to corporations, governments, institutions and individual investors. Leadership has been guided by a senior executive team and board of directors; James P. Gorman has served as the company’s chief executive and chairman in recent years.

The firm’s primary business activities are organized around three principal businesses: Institutional Securities, Wealth Management and Investment Management.