Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Stock Rating Upgraded by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) from a market perform rating to an outperform rating in a research report released on Wednesday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has $160.00 price objective on the financial services provider's stock, up from their previous price objective of $127.00.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on MS. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $138.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and set a $130.00 price target (up previously from $125.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $144.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $136.69.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MS traded down $0.84 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $142.25. 3,646,848 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,680,124. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $131.67 and its 200-day moving average price is $126.60. The stock has a market cap of $228.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.70, a PEG ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.11. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $90.94 and a one year high of $145.16.

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

Morgan Stanley announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, July 1st that allows the company to buyback $20.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to repurchase up to 8.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 40,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total value of $4,800,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 335,765 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $40,291,800. This represents a 10.64% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert H. Herz sold 800 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.32, for a total value of $95,456.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 96,760 shares in the company, valued at $11,545,403.20. The trade was a 0.82% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 50,868 shares of company stock worth $6,019,548 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Morgan Stanley

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 10.2% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,782 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,607,000 after buying an additional 1,185 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 108.7% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 8,393 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,055,000 after acquiring an additional 4,372 shares during the last quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 27.7% in the 4th quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 6,739 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $847,000 after acquiring an additional 1,463 shares during the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 19.5% during the fourth quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 43,286 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $5,442,000 after purchasing an additional 7,069 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Davis R M Inc. lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 16.6% during the fourth quarter. Davis R M Inc. now owns 6,977 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $877,000 after purchasing an additional 993 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.