The Goldman Sachs Group Increases Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Price Target to $121.00

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) had its price objective raised by analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group from $106.00 to $121.00 in a research report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “neutral” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. The Goldman Sachs Group’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 0.57% from the company’s current price.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. HSBC raised Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $118.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, October 4th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $95.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. UBS Group increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $102.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $107.56.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of MS stock traded up $0.81 during trading on Thursday, hitting $120.32. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 5,017,189 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,099,345. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.96. The company has a market cap of $195.54 billion, a PE ratio of 21.86, a P/E/G ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.36. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $69.42 and a 52 week high of $121.45. The business has a fifty day moving average of $102.36 and a 200-day moving average of $98.96.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $15.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.32 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 11.85%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.24 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 6.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In related news, insider Mandell Crawley sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.25, for a total transaction of $368,375.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 43,224 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,549,326. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Morgan Stanley

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MS. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.3% in the third quarter. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA now owns 33,850 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,529,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Viewpoint Capital Management LLC grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Viewpoint Capital Management LLC now owns 12,319 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,197,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the period. Allen Mooney & Barnes Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Allen Mooney & Barnes Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,551 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $266,000 after buying an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 24.4% during the 2nd quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 541 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 106 shares during the period. Finally, Atomi Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 12,893 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,344,000 after buying an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.