Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Stock Rating Lowered by Zacks Research

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. HSBC boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $153.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $186.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. CICC Research upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $173.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $170.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $205.95.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock opened at $203.90 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $182.79 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $177.18. The company has a market cap of $321.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.47, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.22. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $126.35 and a 12-month high of $204.38.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.02 by $0.41. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 14.65% and a return on equity of 17.70%. The business had revenue of $20.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.23 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.60 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 11.85 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 51,668 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.59, for a total transaction of $9,744,068.12. Following the sale, the insider owned 282,142 shares in the company, valued at $53,209,159.78. This represents a 15.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 11,118 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.75, for a total transaction of $2,120,758.50. Following the sale, the insider owned 169,403 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,313,622.25. The trade was a 6.16% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 77,476 shares of company stock worth $14,644,762 over the last 90 days. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Morgan Stanley

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Motiv8 Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Purpose Unlimited Inc. bought a new position in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Olistico Wealth LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. bought a new position in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Morgan Stanley this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley continued to benefit from strong recent earnings, with the company having recently beaten consensus on both EPS and revenue, reinforcing confidence in its operating performance.
• Positive Sentiment: Recent commentary highlighted “record revenue” and rising dividends, which can help attract income-focused investors and support the stock’s valuation. Record Revenue, Rising Dividends—So Why Aren’t Analysts Saying Buy? (MS)
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst coverage remains constructive overall, including multiple buy-equivalent ratings and a recent price target of $610 from Morgan Stanley analyst Manan Gosalia on Broadcom-related coverage, which reflects the firm’s continued visibility across key growth themes.
• Neutral Sentiment: Some articles mention Morgan Stanley in connection with broader market calls and conference sponsorships, which are not direct catalysts for MS shares but keep the firm in the headlines.

Morgan Stanley Company Profile

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.