Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) PT Raised to $109.00 at Jefferies Financial Group

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) had its price target lifted by stock analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from $107.00 to $109.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Jefferies Financial Group’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 20.80% from the company’s current price.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $101.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. 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. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. 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. Finally, 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. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $97.79.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 0.2 %

NYSE:MS opened at $90.23 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $88.82 and its 200 day moving average price is $84.85. The company has a market capitalization of $146.77 billion, a PE ratio of 16.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $69.42 and a 52-week high of $95.57.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.33. The firm had revenue of $15.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.42 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 10.87% and a net margin of 9.57%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.70 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate 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 the business’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 286,835 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,009,143.65. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.30, for a total value of $8,730,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 350,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,555,000. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 26,655 shares of Morgan Stanley 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly 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. Insiders sold a total of 191,155 shares of company stock valued at $16,723,094 over the last three months. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Morgan Stanley

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MS. FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH now owns 3,131 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $295,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. West Paces Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 10.1% in the first quarter. West Paces Advisors Inc. now owns 1,283 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $121,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 4,531 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $423,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 9.9% in the first quarter. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO now owns 1,341 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $126,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,024 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $375,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

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.