Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Bank of America Analyst Says

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) had its target price upped by Bank of America from $140.00 to $146.00 in a report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Bank of America‘s price target indicates a potential upside of 14.21% from the company’s current price.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on MS. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $102.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Morgan Stanley from $106.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Barclays lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $135.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Hsbc Global Res cut shares of Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $125.80.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:MS opened at $127.83 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $205.94 billion, a PE ratio of 19.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $83.09 and a 12-month high of $136.24. The business has a 50 day moving average of $128.09 and a 200-day moving average of $112.13.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.57 by $0.31. The firm had revenue of $15.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.27 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 12.58% and a net margin of 10.64%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 7.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

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 transaction, the director now directly owns 138,363 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,488,718.71. The trade was a 30.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Morgan Stanley

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the second quarter worth $51,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 18,827.6% in the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 236,217 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $22,953,000 after acquiring an additional 234,969 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,297,000. PFG Investments LLC increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 22,372 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,174,000 after purchasing an additional 245 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Choreo LLC raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 757.0% in the second quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 45,686 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,506,000 after purchasing an additional 40,355 shares during the last quarter. 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.