Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Given New $120.00 Price Target at Wells Fargo & Company

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) had its price target lowered by equities researchers at Wells Fargo & Company from $130.00 to $120.00 in a report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “equal weight” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price target suggests a potential upside of 8.02% from the company’s current price.

MS has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Barclays lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. UBS Group raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $135.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $129.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Monday. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $129.20.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MS traded up $2.97 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $111.09. 796,945 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,706,024. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $85.49 and a one year high of $142.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $179.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.99, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.30. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $122.52 and a two-hundred day moving average of $124.42.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $2.60 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.39. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 14.39% and a net margin of 12.48%. The business had revenue of $17.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.81 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.02 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 17.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Morgan Stanley

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Peoples Bank KS acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Curio Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Ancora Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 104.7% during the 4th quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 264 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares during the period. 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.