Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Barclays Analyst Says

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) had its target price lifted by analysts at Barclays from $135.00 to $155.00 in a report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Barclays‘s price target points to a potential upside of 22.28% from the company’s current price.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $106.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $108.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res lowered Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $125.80.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

MS opened at $126.76 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $204.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.36. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $127.89 and its 200-day simple moving average is $112.02. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $83.09 and a one year high of $136.24.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.57 by $0.31. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 12.58% and a net margin of 10.64%. The company had revenue of $15.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.27 billion. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 7.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Morgan Stanley news, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.17, for a total value of $7,150,200.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 138,363 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,488,718.71. The trade was a 30.25 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Morgan Stanley

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.6% during the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 644,671 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $62,656,000 after buying an additional 22,482 shares during the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 1.1% in the second quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 32,345 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,144,000 after purchasing an additional 357 shares in the last quarter. Advisor OS LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $221,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2,051.8% during the 2nd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 143,137 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $13,911,000 after purchasing an additional 136,485 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the second quarter valued at $51,000. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.