Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) PT Raised to $105.00 at Oppenheimer

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) had its price target boosted by stock analysts at Oppenheimer from $101.00 to $105.00 in a research report issued on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “outperform” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Oppenheimer’s price objective points to a potential upside of 13.99% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on MS. Bank of America increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. TheStreet raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. HSBC raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $91.00 target price on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $98.30.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of MS stock opened at $92.11 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.75. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $89.79 and its 200-day moving average price is $85.58. The company has a market capitalization of $149.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.78, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.43. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $69.42 and a one year high of $95.57.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.33. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 10.87% and a net margin of 9.57%. The firm had revenue of $15.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.42 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.70 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 6.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 26,655 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 286,835 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,009,143.65. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, insider Charles Aubrey Smith III sold 11,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.09, for a total value of $1,009,008.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 126,190 shares in the company, valued at $11,368,457.10. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 26,655 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.19, for a total value of $2,324,049.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 286,835 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,009,143.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 237,855 shares of company stock valued at $21,084,057. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Morgan Stanley

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MS. CGC Financial Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 5,200.0% in the fourth quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 265 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares during the period. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 77.3% during the 3rd quarter. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc now owns 328 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 143 shares during the period. First United Bank & Trust acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 123.2% in the third quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 442 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 244 shares during the period. 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.