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

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) had its price target upped by investment analysts at Royal Bank of Canada from $91.00 to $108.00 in a research report issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “sector perform” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 1.79% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on MS. Oppenheimer downgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Cfra lifted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $100.66.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Morgan Stanley stock traded down $0.12 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $106.10. The company had a trading volume of 3,025,732 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,563,777. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $98.79 and its 200-day simple moving average is $92.64. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $69.42 and a 12-month high of $109.11. The company has a market capitalization of $172.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.97, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.77.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.17. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 10.88% and a net margin of 9.57%. The firm had revenue of $15.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.32 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.24 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 6.81 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 that occurred on Thursday, April 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.21, for a total value of $9,021,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 414,870 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,425,422.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Mandell Crawley sold 6,954 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.61, for a total value of $692,687.94. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 46,274 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,609,353.14. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.21, for a total transaction of $9,021,000.00. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 414,870 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,425,422.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Morgan Stanley

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth about $194,000. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 12.3% in the fourth quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 15,984 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,490,000 after purchasing an additional 1,757 shares during the period. Radnor Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 28.6% during the 4th quarter. Radnor Capital Management LLC now owns 11,602 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,082,000 after purchasing an additional 2,582 shares in the last quarter. Rockland Trust Co. bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth $861,000. Finally, Vest Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 32.6% in the fourth quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 137,935 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $12,862,000 after buying an additional 33,918 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is 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.