Barclays Raises Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Price Target to $156.00

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) had its target price lifted by analysts at Barclays from $155.00 to $156.00 in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “overweight” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Barclays‘s target price would suggest a potential upside of 13.22% from the company’s current price.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $104.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Hsbc Global Res downgraded Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company raised Morgan Stanley from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $107.00 to $142.00 in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $129.40.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of MS stock opened at $137.78 on Friday. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $83.09 and a 52 week high of $138.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $221.97 billion, a PE ratio of 20.97, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $129.05 and its 200-day moving average is $113.58.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.57 by $0.31. The firm had revenue of $15.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.27 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 10.64% and a return on equity of 12.58%. Equities research analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 7.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Morgan Stanley

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Peoples Bank KS bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 138.1% during the third quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Planning Capital Management Corp boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 115.1% during the 3rd quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 357 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 191 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is currently 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.