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

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) had its price target lifted by analysts at Bank of America from $146.00 to $153.00 in a research report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Bank of America‘s price objective indicates a potential upside of 11.04% from the company’s current price.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. HSBC cut shares of Morgan Stanley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $128.00 to $131.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $104.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $108.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $129.40.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 1.5 %

NYSE MS opened at $137.78 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $221.97 billion, a PE ratio of 20.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.36. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $129.05 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $113.58. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick 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 $138.08.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.57 by $0.31. The business had revenue of $15.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.27 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 12.58% and a net margin of 10.64%. On average, analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 7.39 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Morgan Stanley

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MS. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 75.2% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,850,848 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $881,493,000 after acquiring an additional 3,369,520 shares in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 382.4% during the third quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 1,597,800 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $166,555,000 after purchasing an additional 1,266,600 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth about $89,761,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 22,404,981 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,335,495,000 after buying an additional 590,872 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 71.2% during the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 1,370,572 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $140,077,000 after buying an additional 569,789 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.