Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Given New $102.00 Price Target at HSBC

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) had its price target upped by stock analysts at HSBC from $100.00 to $102.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “hold” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. HSBC’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 12.09% from the stock’s current price.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on MS. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $91.00 target price on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $97.90.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of MS stock traded up $0.74 on Friday, hitting $91.00. 4,345,863 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,852,514. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 0.75. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $69.42 and a one year high of $95.57. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $88.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $84.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $148.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.43.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.33. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 9.57% and a return on equity of 10.87%. The company had revenue of $15.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.42 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.70 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 6.53 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In related news, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 50,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.93, for a total transaction of $4,396,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 400,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $35,172,000. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 26,655 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.19, for a total value of $2,324,049.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 286,835 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,009,143.65. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 50,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.93, for a total transaction of $4,396,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 400,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $35,172,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 191,155 shares of company stock valued at $16,723,094 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. CGC Financial Services LLC grew its stake 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 acquiring an additional 260 shares during the period. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. RVW Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 77.3% in the third 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 during the period. Finally, Janiczek Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 810.8% in the third quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 337 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.