Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) was upgraded by research analysts at Credit Suisse Group to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday. The firm currently has a $58.00 target price on the financial services provider’s stock. Credit Suisse Group’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 9.17% from the company’s previous close.
Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Wells Fargo & Co set a $55.00 price objective on Morgan Stanley and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 20th. Zacks Investment Research upgraded Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $59.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. set a $53.00 price objective on Morgan Stanley and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 15th. Barclays increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 18th. Finally, Berenberg Bank reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $40.00 price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Thursday, September 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. The company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $52.34.
Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) traded up $0.80 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $53.13. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 8,677,800 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,425,967. The stock has a market capitalization of $95,490.00, a P/E ratio of 14.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.65. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $40.06 and a 12-month high of $54.25. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68.
In other Morgan Stanley news, President Thomas Colm Kelleher sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 692,037 shares in the company, valued at $35,010,151.83. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Jeffrey S. Brodsky sold 16,397 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.07, for a total value of $820,997.79. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 111,776 shares in the company, valued at $5,596,624.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 85,247 shares of company stock worth $4,284,364 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.
Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.0% during the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 102,137,658 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,551,254,000 after buying an additional 969,461 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.4% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 93,483,287 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,165,615,000 after buying an additional 1,256,318 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.2% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 20,973,434 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $934,569,000 after buying an additional 654,034 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 24.5% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 12,326,657 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $549,275,000 after buying an additional 2,427,130 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 18.3% during the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 11,816,768 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $569,213,000 after buying an additional 1,828,697 shares during the last quarter. 85.49% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
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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.
