Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Given New $145.00 Price Target at Wells Fargo & Company

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) had its target price lifted by Wells Fargo & Company from $120.00 to $145.00 in a research report report published on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an equal weight rating on the financial services provider's stock.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on MS. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $144.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Erste Group Bank raised Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $138.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $136.69.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MS traded down $1.66 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $141.43. The company had a trading volume of 964,326 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,669,762. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $90.94 and a twelve month high of $145.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $226.90 billion, a PE ratio of 16.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.30. The firm's fifty day moving average is $131.67 and its 200 day moving average is $126.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.11, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78.

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

Morgan Stanley declared that its board has authorized 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 reacquire up to 8.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Morgan Stanley

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MS. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 111.0% during the first quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 211 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the first quarter valued at $30,000. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.