Morgan Stanley’s (MS) Market Perform Rating Reiterated at JMP Securities

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)‘s stock had its “market perform” rating reissued by equities researchers at JMP Securities in a note issued to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. HSBC raised their target price on Morgan Stanley from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Cfra increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Bank of America raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $91.00 price target on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $97.79.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

MS traded up $0.45 during trading on Thursday, reaching $90.53. 1,902,274 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,847,676. The stock has a market cap of $147.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.55, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.43. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $88.73 and a 200 day moving average of $84.81. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $69.42 and a 52 week high of $95.57.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.33. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 10.87% and a net margin of 9.57%. The company had revenue of $15.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.42 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.70 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 6.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.30, for a total transaction of $8,730,000.00. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 350,000 shares in the company, valued at $30,555,000. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Raja Akram sold 4,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.41, for a total value of $393,345.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 93,134 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,140,842.94. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.30, for a total value of $8,730,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 350,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,555,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 201,155 shares of company stock worth $17,564,394. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Morgan Stanley

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MS. West Paces Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 10.1% in the first quarter. West Paces Advisors Inc. now owns 1,283 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $121,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 4,531 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $423,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 9.9% in the first quarter. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO now owns 1,341 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $126,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,024 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $375,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NBW Capital LLC boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 4.2% in the second quarter. NBW Capital LLC now owns 3,025 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $258,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

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.