Wells Fargo & Company Lowers Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Price Target to $120.00

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) had its price objective reduced by equities researchers at Wells Fargo & Company from $130.00 to $120.00 in a note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “equal weight” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s target price suggests a potential upside of 8.67% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $129.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $144.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $138.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $129.00.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $110.43 on Monday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $121.31 and its 200-day simple 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 1 year low of $88.00 and a 1 year high of $142.03. The company has a market capitalization of $178.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.30.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $2.60 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.39. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 14.39% and a net margin of 12.48%. The company had revenue of $17.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.81 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.02 EPS. Morgan Stanley’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other news, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.01, for a total transaction of $2,380,175.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 81,440 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,076,654.40. This trade represents a 17.69 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.20, for a total value of $1,783,811.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 197,444 shares in the company, valued at $26,891,872.80. This represents a 6.22 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Morgan Stanley

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

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.