Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Price Target Raised to $121.00

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) had its price target hoisted by equities researchers at Barclays from $116.00 to $121.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “overweight” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Barclays‘s price target points to a potential upside of 12.57% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other research analysts have also recently weighed in on MS. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Cfra boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $100.95.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

NYSE:MS traded up $1.27 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $107.49. The company had a trading volume of 4,946,254 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,574,624. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.97. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $69.42 and a 52 week high of $109.11. The firm has a market cap of $174.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.47, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.38. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $98.79 and its 200-day moving average price is $92.64.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $15.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.32 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 9.57% and a return on equity of 10.88%. The company’s revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.24 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 6.81 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other news, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.21, for a total value of $9,021,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 414,870 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,425,422.70. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, insider Mandell Crawley sold 6,954 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.61, for a total transaction of $692,687.94. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 46,274 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,609,353.14. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Morgan Stanley

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MS. CGC Financial Services LLC lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 5,200.0% during the fourth quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 265 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Bank & Trust Co purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Finally, Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

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.