Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Price Target Increased to $108.00 by Analysts at Cfra

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) had its target price hoisted by equities research analysts at Cfra from $97.00 to $108.00 in a report issued on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Cfra’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 21.17% from the company’s current price.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the company. TheStreet raised Morgan Stanley from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. UBS Group increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $89.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 19th. HSBC increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, Oppenheimer dropped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $109.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $95.66.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MS traded up $2.14 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $89.13. 12,681,541 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,853,883. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $88.59 and a 200-day simple moving average of $84.72. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $69.42 and a 1-year high of $95.57. The firm has a market cap of $144.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.43.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.72 by $0.30. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 10.36% and a net margin of 9.49%. The business had revenue of $15.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.42 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.70 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 6.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.13, for a total value of $841,300.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 323,490 shares in the company, valued at $27,215,213.70. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.30, for a total value of $8,730,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 350,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,555,000. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.13, for a total value of $841,300.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 323,490 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,215,213.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 208,155 shares of company stock worth $18,149,314 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Morgan Stanley

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Fairfield Bush & CO. purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the first quarter worth $108,000. Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 7.8% in the first quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 306,637 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,801,000 after acquiring an additional 22,095 shares during the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 61.9% in the first quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 6,957 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $608,000 after acquiring an additional 2,660 shares during the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 64.5% in the first quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 17,070 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,492,000 after acquiring an additional 6,696 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 66.9% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 626 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 251 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.