Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) PT Raised to $101.00 at Oppenheimer

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) had its target price hoisted by stock analysts at Oppenheimer from $97.00 to $101.00 in a research report issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “outperform” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Oppenheimer’s price objective points to a potential upside of 12.32% from the company’s current price.

Several other research analysts have also commented on MS. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $106.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $91.00 target price on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. TheStreet raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, HSBC boosted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $96.13.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

MS traded up $0.78 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $89.92. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 6,897,716 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,901,383. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $88.65 and its 200-day moving average price is $84.78. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $69.42 and a 12 month high of $95.57. The stock has a market cap of $146.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.33. The company had revenue of $15.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.42 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 9.49% and a return on equity of 10.36%. Morgan Stanley’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.70 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 6.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Raja Akram sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.56, for a total value of $584,920.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 97,634 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,158,297.04. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Morgan Stanley news, CFO Raja Akram sold 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.56, for a total value of $584,920.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 97,634 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,158,297.04. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.93, for a total value of $4,396,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 400,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,172,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 208,155 shares of company stock worth $18,149,314. 0.24% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Morgan Stanley

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MS. CGC Financial Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 5,200.0% during the 4th quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 265 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 260 shares during the period. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Main Street Group LTD purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc raised its holdings 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 worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares during the period. Finally, RVW Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. 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.