Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Stock Price Expected to Rise, JPMorgan Chase & Co. Analyst Says

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) had its price target upped by equities research analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $124.00 to $129.00 in a research report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “neutral” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 5.59% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on MS. Citigroup lowered their target price on Morgan Stanley from $135.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $144.00 to $126.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $132.33.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 2.4 %

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock opened at $122.17 on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $85.01 and a 12-month high of $142.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $197.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.39, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $130.39 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $123.50.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.68. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 14.39%. The business had revenue of $16.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.03 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.13 EPS. Morgan Stanley’s revenue was up 25.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.20, for a total value of $1,783,811.40. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 197,444 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,891,872.80. This represents a 6.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.01, for a total transaction of $2,380,175.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 81,440 shares in the company, valued at $11,076,654.40. This represents a 17.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Morgan Stanley

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth $1,910,200,000. Capital Research Global Investors increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 44.8% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 21,794,873 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,740,051,000 after purchasing an additional 6,744,333 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 75.2% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,850,848 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $881,493,000 after purchasing an additional 3,369,520 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 11.9% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 25,561,560 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,213,599,000 after buying an additional 2,725,335 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at $324,118,000. 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.