Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) PT Raised to $109.00

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) had its price target raised by investment analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from $107.00 to $109.00 in a research report issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Jefferies Financial Group’s price objective points to a potential upside of 21.00% from the stock’s current price.

Several other research analysts have also commented on MS. HSBC lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $91.00 target price on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. TheStreet upgraded Morgan Stanley from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 9th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $106.00 to $107.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $97.18.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 1.1 %

NYSE MS opened at $90.08 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $88.73 and a 200-day moving average price of $84.81. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $69.42 and a one year high of $95.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 0.75. The company has a market capitalization of $146.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.43.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.33. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 9.57% and a return on equity of 10.87%. The business had revenue of $15.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.42 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.70 earnings per share. Morgan Stanley’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 6.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Raja Akram sold 4,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.41, for a total transaction of $393,345.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 93,134 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,140,842.94. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Raja Akram sold 4,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.41, for a total transaction of $393,345.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 93,134 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,140,842.94. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.30, for a total value of $8,730,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 350,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,555,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 201,155 shares of company stock worth $17,564,394. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Morgan Stanley

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Mirador Capital Partners LP grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 12.0% during the 1st quarter. Mirador Capital Partners LP now owns 15,345 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,445,000 after purchasing an additional 1,643 shares during the last quarter. LVW Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 18.3% during the first quarter. LVW Advisors LLC now owns 11,500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,083,000 after acquiring an additional 1,777 shares during the period. Chatham Capital Group Inc. raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 14.7% during the first quarter. Chatham Capital Group Inc. now owns 15,456 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,455,000 after acquiring an additional 1,975 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 1st quarter worth approximately $343,000. Finally, River Street Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. River Street Advisors LLC now owns 16,423 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,546,000 after purchasing an additional 614 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.