Mutual Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS – Get Rating) by 13.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,911 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,141 shares during the quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $843,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 68.9% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 18,416,436 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,455,083,000 after buying an additional 7,514,505 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 1.7% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 9,955,509 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $757,219,000 after acquiring an additional 166,221 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 1.0% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,074,398 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $618,303,000 after purchasing an additional 67,791 shares in the last quarter. UBS Asset Management Americas Inc. grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 9.6% in the second quarter. UBS Asset Management Americas Inc. now owns 6,163,637 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $468,806,000 after purchasing an additional 539,483 shares during the period. Finally, Credit Suisse AG increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 26.4% during the second quarter. Credit Suisse AG now owns 5,543,155 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $421,612,000 after purchasing an additional 1,158,383 shares in the last quarter. 83.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Morgan Stanley Price Performance
NYSE:MS opened at $85.84 on Friday. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $72.05 and a 52 week high of $100.99. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $95.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $88.88. The company has a market capitalization of $144.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.57.
Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $12.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.16 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 16.73% and a return on equity of 12.06%. Equities analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 7.19 EPS for the current year.
Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 31st were given a dividend of $0.775 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, January 30th. This represents a $3.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.61%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is currently 50.49%.
Analyst Ratings Changes
Several research firms have commented on MS. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $83.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 18th. Citigroup downgraded Morgan Stanley from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $100.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, January 18th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $98.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 18th. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Thursday, March 16th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $96.57.
Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley
In other news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 24,556 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.23, for a total transaction of $2,412,135.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 190,440 shares in the company, valued at $18,706,921.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Morgan Stanley news, CEO James P. Gorman sold 250,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.93, for a total value of $24,232,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,112,348 shares in the company, valued at $107,819,891.64. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 24,556 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.23, for a total value of $2,412,135.88. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 190,440 shares in the company, valued at $18,706,921.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 341,699 shares of company stock worth $33,143,046. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.
About Morgan Stanley
Morgan Stanley operates as a global financial services company. The firm provides investment banking products and services to its clients and customers including corporations, governments, financial institutions, and individuals. It operates through the following segments: Institutional Securities, Wealth Management, and Investment Management.
See Also
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