The Goldman Sachs Group Increases Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Price Target to $164.00

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) had its price target hoisted by equities research analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group from $145.00 to $164.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “neutral” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. The Goldman Sachs Group’s price target indicates a potential upside of 4.19% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on MS. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Friday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $180.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $127.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 16th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $152.92.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 1.4%

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $157.40 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $150.30 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $134.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $94.33 and a 12 month high of $163.98. The stock has a market cap of $251.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.32.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.98 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $16.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.15 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 15.20% and a net margin of 13.06%.Morgan Stanley’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.82 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, July 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to reacquire up to 8.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 43,566 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.97, for a total value of $6,141,499.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 294,250 shares in the company, valued at $41,480,422.50. The trade was a 12.90% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Michael A. Pizzi sold 18,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.62, for a total value of $2,531,160.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 136,407 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,181,552.34. This represents a 11.66% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 148,149 shares of company stock valued at $20,841,628. Insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Morgan Stanley

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 2.3% in the second quarter. Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC now owns 3,090 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $435,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the period. Meadow Creek Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter. Meadow Creek Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,799 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $394,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the period. Gallagher Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.7% during the second quarter. Gallagher Capital Advisors LLC now owns 9,969 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,420,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Great Diamond Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 0.5% in the second quarter. Great Diamond Partners LLC now owns 13,361 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,882,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the period. Finally, McLean Asset Management Corp boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 2.5% in the second quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp now owns 3,007 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $430,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

About Morgan Stanley

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.