JMP Securities Reaffirms Market Perform Rating for Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)‘s stock had its “market perform” rating reissued by investment analysts at JMP Securities in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Benzinga reports.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the company. Barclays lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut 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. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $135.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 24th. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $138.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $129.00.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

NYSE:MS opened at $110.43 on Monday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $121.31 and its 200 day moving average is $124.36. 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 52-week low of $88.00 and a 52-week high of $142.03. The firm has a market cap of $178.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.91, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.30.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $2.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.39. The firm had revenue of $17.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.81 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 14.39% and a net margin of 12.48%. The company’s revenue was up 17.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.02 EPS. Research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In related news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 197,444 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,891,872.80. This represents a 6.22 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 81,440 shares in the company, valued at $11,076,654.40. The trade was a 17.69 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Morgan Stanley

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Peoples Bank KS purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Curio Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Ancora Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 104.7% during the 4th quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 264 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

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.