Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Price Target Raised to $108.00

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) had its target price raised by Cfra from $97.00 to $108.00 in a report issued on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on MS. JMP Securities reiterated a market perform rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. HSBC boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. 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 report on Tuesday, January 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a neutral rating and set a $87.00 target price (down from $94.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Finally, Oppenheimer decreased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $109.00 to $97.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $95.66.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of MS opened at $89.13 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $144.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.24, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.43. 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 business’s 50 day moving average is $88.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $84.78. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $69.42 and a 52-week high of $95.57.

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

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In other news, CFO Raja Akram sold 4,500 shares of the company’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 value of $393,345.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 93,134 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,140,842.94. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other 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 value of $393,345.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 93,134 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,140,842.94. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the chairman now directly owns 350,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,555,000. 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 ninety days. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Morgan Stanley

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. CGC Financial Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 5,200.0% in the fourth quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 265 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. RVW Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the third quarter worth $27,000. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 77.3% during the third quarter. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc now owns 328 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by 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.