Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Issues Positive Forecast for Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Stock Price

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) had its price target increased by investment analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $138.00 to $145.00 in a research note issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “market perform” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ price target would indicate a potential upside of 6.78% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other research analysts also recently issued reports on MS. Wells Fargo & Company raised Morgan Stanley from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $107.00 to $142.00 in a report on Friday, November 15th. Citigroup raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 25th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $104.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $106.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $126.53.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MS opened at $135.80 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $128.74 and a 200-day moving average of $113.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $83.09 and a twelve month high of $136.24. The firm has a market cap of $218.77 billion, a PE ratio of 20.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.36.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.27 billion. On average, equities research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 7.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Morgan Stanley

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 474.3% during the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 21,134 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,203,000 after purchasing an additional 17,454 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.8% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,711,805 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $491,159,000 after acquiring an additional 36,120 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.4% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 1,152,937 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $120,182,000 after acquiring an additional 16,350 shares during the period. Matrix Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth $2,040,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 75.2% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,850,848 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $881,493,000 after acquiring an additional 3,369,520 shares in the last quarter. 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.