The Goldman Sachs Group Issues Positive Forecast for Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Stock Price

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) had its price objective upped by research analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group from $172.00 to $186.00 in a research report issued on Monday,MarketScreener reports. The firm currently has a “neutral” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. The Goldman Sachs Group’s price target suggests a potential upside of 11.40% from the stock’s current price.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Wolfe Research decreased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $221.00 to $197.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Wall Street Zen raised Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Rothschild & Co Redburn cut their target price on Morgan Stanley from $175.00 to $171.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Evercore dropped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $215.00 to $190.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Finally, HSBC reduced their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $175.00 to $153.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $188.87.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of MS opened at $166.96 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $265.11 billion, a PE ratio of 16.34, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.19. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $169.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $169.42. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $94.33 and a 12 month high of $192.68.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.68 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.40. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 16.78% and a net margin of 14.09%.The company had revenue of $17.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.69 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.22 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 21,555 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.00, for a total value of $3,966,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 171,005 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,464,920. The trade was a 11.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 30,330 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.62, for a total transaction of $5,569,194.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 280,481 shares in the company, valued at $51,501,921.22. The trade was a 9.76% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 129,191 shares of company stock valued at $23,736,506 in the last 90 days. 0.19% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MS. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 12.3% during the fourth quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 502 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $89,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the period. Powers Advisory Group LLC boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Powers Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,443 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $256,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Fielder Capital Group LLC increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Fielder Capital Group LLC now owns 4,216 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $748,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the period. Central Bank & Trust Co. raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Central Bank & Trust Co. now owns 1,767 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $314,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Howard Financial Services LTD. lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD. now owns 3,579 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $635,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

About Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) is a global financial services firm headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1935 by Henry S. Morgan and Harold Stanley, the company provides a broad range of investment banking, securities, wealth management and investment management services to corporations, governments, institutions and individual investors. Leadership has been guided by a senior executive team and board of directors; James P. Gorman has served as the company’s chief executive and chairman in recent years.

The firm’s primary business activities are organized around three principal businesses: Institutional Securities, Wealth Management and Investment Management.