Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Price Target Raised to $98.00 at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) had its price objective boosted by stock analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $94.00 to $98.00 in a report issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “market perform” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ price objective would indicate a potential upside of 8.61% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $89.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $87.00 target price (down previously from $94.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. Bank of America lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Oppenheimer decreased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $109.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 9th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $97.79.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:MS opened at $90.23 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $146.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.44, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 0.75. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $88.82 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $84.85. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $69.42 and a 52-week high of $95.57.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.33. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 10.87% and a net margin of 9.57%. The firm had revenue of $15.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.42 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.70 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 6.36 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 26,655 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.19, for a total value of $2,324,049.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 286,835 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,009,143.65. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.30, for a total transaction of $8,730,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 350,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,555,000. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 26,655 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.19, for a total value of $2,324,049.45. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 286,835 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,009,143.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 191,155 shares of company stock worth $16,723,094. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in MS. CGC Financial Services LLC raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 5,200.0% in the 4th quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 265 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. RVW Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 77.3% in the 3rd quarter. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc now owns 328 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janiczek Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 810.8% during the 3rd quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 337 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. 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.