Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Price Target Raised to $105.00

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) had its price objective boosted by equities researchers at Oppenheimer from $101.00 to $105.00 in a report issued on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “outperform” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Oppenheimer’s target price suggests a potential upside of 13.99% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other analysts also recently weighed in on the company. HSBC increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $98.30.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

NYSE MS opened at $92.11 on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $69.42 and a twelve month high of $95.57. 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 company has a market capitalization of $149.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.78, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.43. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $89.79 and a 200 day simple moving average of $85.58.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.33. The business had revenue of $15.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.42 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 9.57% and a return on equity of 10.87%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.70 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 6.77 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Morgan Stanley news, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.30, for a total transaction of $8,730,000.00. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 350,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,555,000. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, insider Charles Aubrey Smith III sold 11,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.09, for a total value of $1,009,008.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 126,190 shares in the company, valued at $11,368,457.10. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.30, for a total transaction of $8,730,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 350,000 shares in the company, valued at $30,555,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 237,855 shares of company stock valued at $21,084,057. 0.24% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Morgan Stanley

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MS. Caprock Group LLC increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 3.6% in the first quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 19,167 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,805,000 after acquiring an additional 662 shares during the last quarter. Navis Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 4.7% during the 1st quarter. Navis Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,164 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $298,000 after buying an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. SkyOak Wealth LLC lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. SkyOak Wealth LLC now owns 45,385 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,273,000 after buying an additional 1,721 shares during the last quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 2.5% in the first quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. now owns 42,649 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,016,000 after buying an additional 1,045 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FAS Wealth Partners Inc. grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 3.6% during the first quarter. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 20,274 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,909,000 after acquiring an additional 697 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.