BMO Capital Markets Increases Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Price Target to $118.00

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) had its target price upped by equities research analysts at BMO Capital Markets from $115.00 to $118.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “outperform” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. BMO Capital Markets’ target price would indicate a potential upside of 30.07% from the company’s previous close.

MS has been the topic of several other reports. Cfra upped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $102.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $91.00 price target on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, HSBC boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $97.79.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of MS traded up $0.64 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $90.72. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 668,671 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,831,378. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $69.42 and a 1-year high of $95.57. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $88.73 and a 200 day simple moving average of $84.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $147.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.43.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.33. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 9.57% and a return on equity of 10.87%. The company had revenue of $15.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.42 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.70 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 6.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.13, for a total value of $841,300.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 323,490 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,215,213.70. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.13, for a total transaction of $841,300.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 323,490 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,215,213.70. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Raja Akram sold 4,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.41, for a total transaction of $393,345.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 93,134 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,140,842.94. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 201,155 shares of company stock valued at $17,564,394. 0.24% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MS. Fairfield Bush & CO. purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 1st quarter worth about $108,000. Baird Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 7.8% in the 1st quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 306,637 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,801,000 after purchasing an additional 22,095 shares during the period. Zions Bancorporation N.A. boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 61.9% during the first quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 6,957 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $608,000 after buying an additional 2,660 shares during the period. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 64.5% during the 1st quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 17,070 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,492,000 after acquiring an additional 6,696 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 66.9% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 626 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 251 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.