Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Societe Generale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Tuesday.
MS has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Zacks Investment Research raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $59.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, December 11th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $52.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Vining Sparks reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Monday. Buckingham Research upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $54.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 18th. Finally, 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 report on Tuesday, December 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Morgan Stanley currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $52.75.
Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE MS) traded down $0.22 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $52.89. 6,681,300 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,087,220. The company has a market capitalization of $96,270.00, a PE ratio of 14.61, a PEG ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.65. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $40.06 and a 52 week high of $54.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 0.74.
In other news, insider Keishi Hotsuki sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $1,250,000.00. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, President Thomas Colm Kelleher sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.59, for a total value of $2,023,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now directly owns 692,037 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $35,010,151.83. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 85,247 shares of company stock valued at $4,284,364 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.
Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Invictus RG increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 307.5% in the third quarter. Invictus RG now owns 2,335 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $112,000 after buying an additional 1,762 shares during the period. Rational Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the third quarter valued at approximately $116,000. Zions Bancorporation increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 176.1% in the third quarter. Zions Bancorporation now owns 2,463 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $119,000 after buying an additional 1,571 shares during the period. WFG Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 45.4% in the second quarter. WFG Advisors LP now owns 2,690 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $120,000 after buying an additional 840 shares during the period. Finally, BB&T Investment Services Inc. increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 163.1% in the third quarter. BB&T Investment Services Inc. now owns 2,655 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $127,000 after buying an additional 1,646 shares during the period. 85.49% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
COPYRIGHT VIOLATION NOTICE: This article was originally posted by American Banking and Market News and is the sole property of of American Banking and Market News. If you are accessing this article on another site, it was illegally stolen and reposted in violation of United States & international trademark & copyright law. The legal version of this article can be viewed at https://www.americanbankingnews.com/2018/01/09/morgan-stanley-ms-cut-to-hold-at-societe-generale.html.
Morgan Stanley Company Profile
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.
