UBS Group Boosts Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Price Target to $255.00

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) had its price target raised by stock analysts at UBS Group from $214.00 to $255.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. UBS Group’s price target points to a potential upside of 14.25% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $210.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. HSBC upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $153.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 17th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $179.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $213.95.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 0.5%

MS stock opened at $223.19 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $352.04 billion, a PE ratio of 20.22, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.23. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $135.26 and a 1 year high of $230.47. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $205.33 and a 200 day simple moving average of $185.72. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.02 by $0.41. The company had revenue of $20.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.23 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 17.70% and a net margin of 14.65%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.60 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 11.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, June 24th that authorizes the company to buyback $20.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase up to 5.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 14,690 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.24, for a total value of $2,779,935.60. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 365,802 shares in the company, valued at $69,224,370.48. This trade represents a 3.86% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 11,118 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.75, for a total transaction of $2,120,758.50. Following the transaction, the insider owned 169,403 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,313,622.25. The trade was a 6.16% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 77,476 shares of company stock valued at $14,644,762 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Morgan Stanley

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Purpose Unlimited Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Motiv8 Investments LLC bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Olistico Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, WFA of San Diego LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

More Morgan Stanley News

Here are the key news stories impacting Morgan Stanley this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley analyst coverage of SpaceX helped fuel optimism after the firm reportedly initiated coverage with a highly upbeat view, reinforcing Morgan Stanley’s role in underwriting and researching major capital markets deals. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts say the blockbuster SpaceX IPO is boosting sales-and-trading revenue at Wall Street banks, which should support second-quarter earnings at firms like Morgan Stanley. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley Investment Management also announced an investment in the Greenlight Electricity Centre power project, adding another infrastructure-focused growth angle to the Morgan Stanley story. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: MS shares have been trending higher recently and are trading near their 52-week high, reflecting strong momentum heading into the next earnings cycle.
• Neutral Sentiment: Several unrelated headlines mention Morgan Stanley as an analyst or portfolio holder in other companies, but they are unlikely to directly move MS stock today.

About Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) is a global financial services firm headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1935 by Henry S. Morgan and Harold Stanley, the company provides a broad range of investment banking, securities, wealth management and investment management services to corporations, governments, institutions and individual investors. Leadership has been guided by a senior executive team and board of directors; James P. Gorman has served as the company’s chief executive and chairman in recent years.

The firm’s primary business activities are organized around three principal businesses: Institutional Securities, Wealth Management and Investment Management.