Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) has been assigned a $55.00 target price by research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company in a report issued on Wednesday. The firm presently has a “hold” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company’s target price indicates a potential upside of 4.74% from the company’s previous close.
Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Zacks Investment Research raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $59.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, December 11th. Buckingham Research raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $54.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $59.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 12th. Oppenheimer reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Tuesday, October 17th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reissued a “top pick” rating and issued a $69.00 price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Wednesday, October 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Morgan Stanley presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $51.20.
Shares of Morgan Stanley (MS) traded down $0.42 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $52.51. 6,441,009 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,352,095. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $96,279.66, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.75, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.64. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $40.06 and a one year high of $54.25.
In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Jeffrey S. Brodsky sold 16,397 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.07, for a total transaction of $820,997.79. Following the sale, the insider now owns 111,776 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,596,624.32. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, President Thomas Colm Kelleher sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.59, for a total transaction of $2,023,600.00. Following the sale, the president now directly owns 692,037 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,010,151.83. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 85,247 shares of company stock worth $4,284,364. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Invictus RG grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 307.5% during the third quarter. Invictus RG now owns 2,335 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $112,000 after acquiring an additional 1,762 shares during the last quarter. Rational Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the third quarter worth approximately $116,000. Omnia Family Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 5.8% during the second quarter. Omnia Family Wealth LLC now owns 2,429 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $108,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 176.1% during the third quarter. Zions Bancorporation now owns 2,463 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $119,000 after acquiring an additional 1,571 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BB&T Investment Services Inc. grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 163.1% during the third quarter. BB&T Investment Services Inc. now owns 2,655 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $127,000 after acquiring an additional 1,646 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.49% of the company’s stock.
About Morgan Stanley
Morgan Stanley is a financial holding company. The Company’s segments include Institutional Securities, Wealth Management and Investment Management. The Company’s Institutional Securities business segment provides investment banking, sales and trading, and other services to corporations, governments, financial institutions and high-to-ultra high net worth clients.
