Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) PT Raised to $98.00 at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) had its price target boosted by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $94.00 to $98.00 in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “market perform” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ price target points to a potential upside of 8.61% from the stock’s current price.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 9th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $102.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 2nd. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Finally, HSBC lifted 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $97.79.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

NYSE MS opened at $90.23 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $88.82 and a 200 day simple moving average of $84.85. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $69.42 and a 12-month 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 company has a market cap of $146.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.44, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.43.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $15.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.42 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.70 EPS. Morgan Stanley’s revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 6.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In related news, CFO Raja Akram sold 4,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.41, for a total value of $393,345.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 93,134 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,140,842.94. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 26,655 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.19, for a total transaction of $2,324,049.45. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 286,835 shares in the company, valued at $25,009,143.65. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Raja Akram sold 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.41, for a total value of $393,345.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 93,134 shares in the company, valued at $8,140,842.94. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 191,155 shares of company stock worth $16,723,094. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Morgan Stanley

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

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.