Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Upgraded by BMO Capital Markets to Strong-Buy Rating

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) was upgraded by analysts at BMO Capital Markets to a “strong-buy” rating in a report issued on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on MS. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $127.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $149.15.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MS opened at $157.40 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $150.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $134.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $94.33 and a 12-month high of $163.98. The company has a market cap of $251.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.32.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.98 by $0.15. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 13.06% and a return on equity of 15.20%. The company had revenue of $16.79 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.15 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.82 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Tuesday, July 1st that permits the company to buyback $20.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase up to 8.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In related news, insider Michael A. Pizzi sold 18,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.62, for a total value of $2,531,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 136,407 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,181,552.34. This trade represents a 11.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Charles A. Smith sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.30, for a total transaction of $2,806,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 119,239 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,729,231.70. The trade was a 14.36% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 148,149 shares of company stock valued at $20,841,628. 0.19% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Morgan Stanley

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC now owns 3,090 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $435,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the period. Meadow Creek Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter. Meadow Creek Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,799 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $394,000 after buying an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Gallagher Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Gallagher Capital Advisors LLC now owns 9,969 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,420,000 after buying an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Great Diamond Partners LLC lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Great Diamond Partners LLC now owns 13,361 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,882,000 after buying an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Finally, McLean Asset Management Corp lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp now owns 3,007 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $430,000 after buying an additional 73 shares in 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.