Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Price Target Raised to $130.00 at Citigroup

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) had its target price raised by analysts at Citigroup from $125.00 to $130.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "neutral" rating on the financial services provider's stock. Citigroup's price objective indicates a potential downside of 0.58% from the stock's current price.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on MS. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $120.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Monday, April 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $144.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $138.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $133.62.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of MS stock opened at $130.76 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.11, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78. The stock has a market cap of $209.78 billion, a PE ratio of 15.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.29. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $90.94 and a 1 year high of $142.03. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $122.23 and a 200 day moving average price of $125.17.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $2.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.39. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 12.98% and a return on equity of 14.98%. The company had revenue of $17.74 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.81 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.02 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 17.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 10,068 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.65, for a total value of $1,124,092.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 199,274 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $22,248,942.10. This represents a 4.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 40,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total transaction of $4,800,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 335,765 shares in the company, valued at $40,291,800. This represents a 10.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 50,868 shares of company stock valued at $6,019,548 over the last 90 days. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Morgan Stanley

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 111.0% in the 1st quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 211 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. IAG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Curio Wealth LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Morgan Stanley Company Profile

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.