Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Given New $164.00 Price Target at The Goldman Sachs Group

Key Points

• Goldman Sachs Group has raised its price target for Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $164.00, indicating a potential upside of 4.36% based on the company's previous close.
• Several analysts have upgraded Morgan Stanley's rating, with Citigroup setting a new target of $155.00 and Evercore ISI increasing theirs to $165.00, reflecting positive sentiment among financial analysts.
• The company has authorized a $20 billion stock repurchase program, signaling confidence in its stock valuation amid a broader bullish outlook from institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) had its price objective increased by research analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group from $145.00 to $164.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a "neutral" rating on the financial services provider's stock. The Goldman Sachs Group's price objective would indicate a potential upside of 4.36% from the company's previous close.

MS has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 16th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Friday. They set an "outperform" rating and a $180.00 price target for the company. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $127.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $149.15.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

NYSE:MS traded up $1.84 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $157.14. The stock had a trading volume of 1,914,395 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,412,727. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $250.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.79, a PEG ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.32. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $94.33 and a twelve month high of $163.98. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $150.02 and a 200 day simple moving average of $134.16.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.98 by $0.15. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 13.06% and a return on equity of 15.20%. The company had revenue of $16.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.15 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.82 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, July 1st that authorizes the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 8.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.12, for a total value of $1,693,440.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 186,420 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,307,590.40. This trade represents a 6.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Charles A. Smith sold 20,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.30, for a total value of $2,806,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 119,239 shares in the company, valued at $16,729,231.70. This trade represents a 14.36% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 148,149 shares of company stock worth $20,841,628. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Morgan Stanley

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,234,883,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 6.9% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 117,769,345 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $13,740,149,000 after buying an additional 7,636,547 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley during the first quarter worth about $767,506,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 21.2% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 17,056,916 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,990,030,000 after buying an additional 2,989,122 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the second quarter worth $343,236,000. 84.19% of the stock is 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.

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