Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Cut to “Hold” at Hsbc Global Res

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) was downgraded by analysts at Hsbc Global Res from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on MS. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $106.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $108.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $107.00 to $142.00 in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, HSBC lowered shares of Morgan Stanley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $128.00 to $131.00 in a research note on Tuesday. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $115.63.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

MS stock opened at $131.25 on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $76.33 and a one year high of $136.24. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $117.46 and a two-hundred day moving average of $105.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $211.45 billion, a PE ratio of 19.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.57 by $0.31. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 10.64% and a return on equity of 12.58%. The business had revenue of $15.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.27 billion. On average, analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 7.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 17th. The stock was 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.24% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Morgan Stanley

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1,147.6% during the 2nd quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 262 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares in the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co bought a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Finally, Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the second quarter worth about $29,000. 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.