Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Lowered to Hold Rating by Hsbc Global Res

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) was downgraded by research analysts at Hsbc Global Res from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the company. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $108.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Morgan Stanley from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $107.00 to $142.00 in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $106.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $115.63.

Morgan Stanley Trading Down 1.8 %

MS opened at $131.25 on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $76.33 and a fifty-two week high of $136.24. The company has a market cap of $211.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.34. 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 firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $117.46 and a 200 day simple moving average of $105.78.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.57 by $0.31. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 12.58% and a net margin of 10.64%. The company had revenue of $15.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.27 billion. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 7.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.17, for a total transaction of $7,150,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 138,363 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,488,718.71. This trade represents a 30.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Synovus Financial Corp lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 9.2% during the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 59,758 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,229,000 after purchasing an additional 5,024 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 85,446 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,907,000 after buying an additional 5,135 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 474.3% during the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 21,134 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,203,000 after buying an additional 17,454 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 45.0% in the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 15,063 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,570,000 after buying an additional 4,674 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 8.5% in the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 172,114 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $17,941,000 after acquiring an additional 13,425 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.