Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Price Target Increased to $100.00 by Analysts at HSBC

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) had its price target upped by research analysts at HSBC from $96.00 to $100.00 in a report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “hold” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. HSBC’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 6.95% from the stock’s current price.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Barclays raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $102.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $91.00 price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $91.00 target price (down previously from $102.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. Oppenheimer lowered their target price on Morgan Stanley from $109.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and set a $87.00 price objective (down previously from $94.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $94.45.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $93.50 on Thursday. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $69.42 and a 12 month high of $95.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.75. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $87.13 and a 200-day simple moving average of $84.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $152.90 billion, a PE ratio of 18.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.43.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.06. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 10.36% and a net margin of 9.49%. The firm had revenue of $12.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.77 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.31 earnings per share. Morgan Stanley’s quarterly revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Raja Akram sold 7,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.56, for a total transaction of $584,920.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 97,634 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,158,297.04. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 10,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on Friday, January 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.13, for a total value of $841,300.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 323,490 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,215,213.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Raja Akram sold 7,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.56, for a total value of $584,920.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 97,634 shares in the company, valued at $8,158,297.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 208,155 shares of company stock worth $18,149,314. 0.26% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. CGC Financial Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 5,200.0% in the fourth quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 265 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. RVW Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 77.3% in the 3rd quarter. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc now owns 328 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. 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.