JMP Securities Reaffirms Market Perform Rating for Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)‘s stock had its “market perform” rating reaffirmed by analysts at JMP Securities in a research note issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Bank of America boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. TheStreet upgraded Morgan Stanley from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $87.00 target price (down previously from $94.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Finally, Cfra upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $97.79.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of MS stock traded up $0.45 on Thursday, reaching $90.53. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,902,274 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,847,676. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $69.42 and a 12-month high of $95.57. The company has a market capitalization of $147.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.55, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.43. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $88.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $84.81.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.33. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 10.87% and a net margin of 9.57%. The business had revenue of $15.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.42 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.70 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 6.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In other news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.13, for a total transaction of $841,300.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 323,490 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,215,213.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.93, for a total value of $4,396,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 400,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,172,000. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.13, for a total value of $841,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 323,490 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,215,213.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 201,155 shares of company stock valued at $17,564,394. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Morgan Stanley

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Fairfield Bush & CO. purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 1st quarter worth $108,000. Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 7.8% in the 1st quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 306,637 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,801,000 after buying an additional 22,095 shares in the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 61.9% in the 1st quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 6,957 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $608,000 after buying an additional 2,660 shares in the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 64.5% in the 1st quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 17,070 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,492,000 after buying an additional 6,696 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 66.9% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 626 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 251 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.