JPMorgan Chase & Co. Issues Positive Forecast for Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Stock Price

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) had its price objective raised by equities researchers at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $124.00 to $129.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “neutral” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price objective suggests a potential upside of 3.45% from the company’s current price.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on MS. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $146.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. UBS Group increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Hsbc Global Res cut Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $135.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $144.00 to $126.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $132.33.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE:MS opened at $124.70 on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $85.01 and a one year high of $142.03. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $130.56 and a 200-day moving average price of $123.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $201.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.68. The firm had revenue of $16.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.03 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 14.39% and a net margin of 12.48%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.13 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.20, for a total transaction of $1,783,811.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 197,444 shares in the company, valued at $26,891,872.80. The trade was a 6.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.01, for a total value of $2,380,175.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 81,440 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,076,654.40. The trade was a 17.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Morgan Stanley

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. 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 during the period. Eagle Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 31.7% in the third quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 21,442 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,235,000 after purchasing an additional 5,155 shares in the last quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 9.4% in the third quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 7,176 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $748,000 after purchasing an additional 619 shares in the last quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 18.3% during the 3rd quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,616 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $690,000 after purchasing an additional 1,025 shares during the period. Finally, Summit Trail Advisors LLC raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 12.4% during the 3rd quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 10,237 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,067,000 after purchasing an additional 1,131 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.