Barclays Raises Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Price Target to $135.00

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) had its price target upped by equities research analysts at Barclays from $121.00 to $135.00 in a research note issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “overweight” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Barclays‘s price target indicates a potential upside of 13.09% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on MS. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. UBS Group increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $102.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Oppenheimer cut shares of Morgan Stanley from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $105.29.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock traded down $0.14 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $119.37. 2,835,302 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,088,490. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $102.36 and a 200-day simple moving average of $98.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.96, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $69.42 and a 52 week high of $121.45. The firm has a market cap of $194.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.74, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.36.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.17. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 11.85%. The firm had revenue of $15.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.32 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.24 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 6.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Mandell Crawley sold 3,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.25, for a total transaction of $368,375.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 43,224 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,549,326. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.24% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Morgan Stanley

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA now owns 33,850 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,529,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Viewpoint Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Viewpoint Capital Management LLC now owns 12,319 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,197,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. Allen Mooney & Barnes Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Allen Mooney & Barnes Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,551 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $266,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the period. WR Wealth Planners LLC grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 24.4% in the 2nd quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 541 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Atomi Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 12,893 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,344,000 after buying an additional 107 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Company Profile

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.