Rothschild & Co Redburn Raises Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Price Target to $195.00

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) had its target price boosted by analysts at Rothschild & Co Redburn from $183.00 to $195.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,MarketScreener reports. The firm currently has a “neutral” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Rothschild & Co Redburn’s price target suggests a potential downside of 12.36% from the company’s previous close.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on MS. HSBC upped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $153.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 17th. Citizens Jmp restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Dbs Bank upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $185.00 to $220.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $186.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $179.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $209.50.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of MS traded up $2.63 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $222.49. 309,618 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,715,828. The stock has a market cap of $350.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.23, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.23. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $201.85 and a 200-day moving average of $183.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.77. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $135.26 and a 52 week high of $230.47.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.02 by $0.41. The firm had revenue of $20.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.23 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 17.70% and a net margin of 14.65%.The business’s revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.60 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 11.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, June 24th that authorizes the company to buyback $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to reacquire up to 5.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 51,668 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.59, for a total value of $9,744,068.12. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 282,142 shares in the company, valued at $53,209,159.78. This trade represents a 15.48% 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. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 11,118 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on Monday, April 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.75, for a total transaction of $2,120,758.50. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 169,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $32,313,622.25. The trade was a 6.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 77,476 shares of company stock worth $14,644,762 over the last three months. 0.17% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Morgan Stanley

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Purpose Unlimited Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Motiv8 Investments LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Olistico Wealth LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Finally, WFA of San Diego LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the second quarter worth $28,000. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting Morgan Stanley

Here are the key news stories impacting Morgan Stanley this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley announced a $20 billion share repurchase authorization and raised its quarterly dividend to $1.15 per share from $1.00, which should support capital returns and signals management confidence.
• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo raised its price target on Morgan Stanley to $225 from $200, suggesting analysts still see modest upside from current levels.
• Positive Sentiment: The bank also received a tenth consecutive “Outstanding” community reinvestment rating from the OCC, reinforcing a solid regulatory and franchise backdrop.
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley has also been active in research coverage, including a recent target increase on NextEra Energy and a bullish view on several other names, which highlights its continued influence on Wall Street sentiment.
• Negative Sentiment: Shares are being weighed by broader concern around Morgan Stanley’s exposure to private credit, after reports that its North Haven private credit fund capped Q2 withdrawals because investor redemption requests exceeded what the fund was willing to honor.
• Negative Sentiment: Related headlines across alternative asset managers and private-credit vehicles have revived liquidity fears in the sector, which can pressure Morgan Stanley’s stock even without a fresh company-specific earnings miss.

About Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) is a global financial services firm headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1935 by Henry S. Morgan and Harold Stanley, the company provides a broad range of investment banking, securities, wealth management and investment management services to corporations, governments, institutions and individual investors. Leadership has been guided by a senior executive team and board of directors; James P. Gorman has served as the company’s chief executive and chairman in recent years.

The firm’s primary business activities are organized around three principal businesses: Institutional Securities, Wealth Management and Investment Management.