Brokerages Set Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Price Target at $103.06

Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the twenty-one ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, twelve have given a hold recommendation, seven have assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $103.06.

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. HSBC raised Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $118.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, October 4th. Wells Fargo & Company cut Morgan Stanley from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $99.00 to $95.00 in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Citigroup raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $91.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of MS opened at $112.32 on Friday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $101.43 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $98.69. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.96. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $69.42 and a 12 month high of $112.44. The company has a market cap of $182.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.36.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Morgan Stanley news, CFO Raja Akram sold 7,500 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.37, for a total value of $797,775.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 87,119 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,266,848.03. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Director Robert H. Herz sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.62, for a total transaction of $106,620.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 95,908 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,225,710.96. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Raja Akram sold 7,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.37, for a total transaction of $797,775.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 87,119 shares in the company, valued at $9,266,848.03. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 252,000 shares of company stock valued at $26,546,370 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Morgan Stanley

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Creative Planning boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 4.2% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 220,114 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $22,945,000 after purchasing an additional 8,902 shares during the last quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.9% in the third quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 160,458 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $16,726,000 after acquiring an additional 5,984 shares during the period. CX Institutional raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 8.1% in the third quarter. CX Institutional now owns 7,139 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $744,000 after acquiring an additional 536 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 17.6% in the third quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,661 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $277,000 after acquiring an additional 399 shares during the period. Finally, Wedge Capital Management L L P NC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the third quarter worth about $201,000. 84.19% of the stock is 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.