The Goldman Sachs Group Raises Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Price Target to $121.00

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) had its price objective boosted by equities research analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group from $106.00 to $121.00 in a research report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a "neutral" rating on the financial services provider's stock. The Goldman Sachs Group's target price would indicate a potential upside of 1.30% from the company's previous close.

Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on MS. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $95.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $108.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday. Oppenheimer lowered shares of Morgan Stanley from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $102.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $107.56.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MS traded down $0.06 during trading on Thursday, reaching $119.45. 9,355,860 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,120,930. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.96. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $69.42 and a fifty-two week high of $121.45. The firm has a market cap of $194.13 billion, a PE ratio of 21.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $102.36 and a 200-day simple moving average of $98.96.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $15.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.32 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 11.85% and a net margin of 10.17%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.24 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 6.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Mandell Crawley sold 3,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.25, for a total transaction of $368,375.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 43,224 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,549,326. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Morgan Stanley

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 1,147.6% in the 2nd quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 262 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 241 shares during the period. Bank & Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Lynx Investment Advisory acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.