The Goldman Sachs Group Has Lowered Expectations for Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Stock Price

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) had its price target decreased by equities researchers at The Goldman Sachs Group from $144.00 to $126.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "neutral" rating on the financial services provider's stock. The Goldman Sachs Group's price target would indicate a potential upside of 4.77% from the company's current price.

MS has been the subject of a number of other research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $104.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. HSBC cut Morgan Stanley from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $128.00 to $131.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. UBS Group raised their price objective on 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 raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $131.60.

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Morgan Stanley Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of MS stock traded down $0.21 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $120.26. 10,989,906 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,221,598. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $85.01 and a fifty-two week high of $142.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. The company has a market capitalization of $193.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.35. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $130.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $123.13.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.68. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 14.39%. The business had revenue of $16.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.13 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 25.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Morgan Stanley

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Park Square Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth about $46,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth about $129,341,000. Brucke Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth about $228,000. Finally, Omnia Family Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Omnia Family Wealth LLC now owns 3,140 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $395,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the period. 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.