Evercore ISI Lowers Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Price Target to $138.00

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) had its price objective reduced by equities researchers at Evercore ISI from $150.00 to $138.00 in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “outperform” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Evercore ISI’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 15.63% from the company’s current price.

MS has been the topic of several other reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $142.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 28th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Bank of America upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $146.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price target on Morgan Stanley from $135.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $130.13.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

NYSE MS opened at $119.35 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $128.42 and its 200 day moving average price is $124.20. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $85.01 and a 1 year high of $142.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The company has a market cap of $192.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.03, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.35.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.68. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 14.39% and a net margin of 12.48%. The business had revenue of $16.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.03 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.13 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 25.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Morgan Stanley news, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.01, for a total transaction of $2,380,175.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 81,440 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,076,654.40. The trade was a 17.69 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.20, for a total transaction of $1,783,811.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 197,444 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,891,872.80. This trade represents a 6.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Morgan Stanley

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Peoples Bank KS acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Curio Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Ancora Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 104.7% in the 4th quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 264 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.