Barclays Issues Positive Forecast for Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Stock Price

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) had its target price upped by investment analysts at Barclays from $135.00 to $155.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Barclays‘s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 19.40% from the company’s current price.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on MS. Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $106.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $123.13.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 3.1 %

MS stock traded up $3.88 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $129.82. 2,885,283 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,853,054. The firm has a market capitalization of $209.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. The business has a 50 day moving average of $127.55 and a 200-day moving average of $111.58. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $83.09 and a 52-week high of $136.24.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.57 by $0.31. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 12.58% and a net margin of 10.64%. The company had revenue of $15.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.27 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 7.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other news, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 138,363 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,488,718.71. The trade was a 30.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Morgan Stanley

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MS. Neville Rodie & Shaw Inc. purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth approximately $318,000. CWA Asset Management Group LLC lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 7.1% during the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 5,244 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $659,000 after purchasing an additional 346 shares during the period. Modus Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at $61,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 9.1% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 22,152 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,785,000 after purchasing an additional 1,840 shares during the period. Finally, DGS Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 28.0% during the 3rd quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 4,331 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $451,000 after buying an additional 947 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.