Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Stock Price Expected to Rise, JPMorgan Chase & Co. Analyst Says

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) had its price target hoisted by equities researchers at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $100.00 to $104.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “neutral” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s target price indicates a potential downside of 19.98% from the company’s current price.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on MS. Citigroup boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Morgan Stanley from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $107.00 to $142.00 in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $121.80.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 0.3 %

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $129.96 on Friday. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $79.62 and a fifty-two week high of $136.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $209.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.78, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.35. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $122.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is $107.46.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.57 by $0.31. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 10.64% and a return on equity of 12.58%. The company had revenue of $15.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.27 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 7.32 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other news, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.17, for a total transaction of $7,150,200.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 138,363 shares in the company, valued at $16,488,718.71. The trade was a 30.25 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 75.2% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,850,848 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $881,493,000 after buying an additional 3,369,520 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 382.4% during the third quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 1,597,800 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $166,555,000 after acquiring an additional 1,266,600 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 22,404,981 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,335,495,000 after purchasing an additional 590,872 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 71.2% in the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 1,370,572 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $140,077,000 after purchasing an additional 569,789 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter valued at about $43,850,000. 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.