106,400 Shares in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Bought by BOCHK Asset Management Ltd

BOCHK Asset Management Ltd bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 106,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $9,922,000. Morgan Stanley comprises approximately 6.1% of BOCHK Asset Management Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth about $958,105,000. Boston Partners acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 3rd quarter worth about $477,765,000. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth about $512,867,000. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 21.2% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 23,474,452 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,917,159,000 after buying an additional 4,098,577 shares during the period. Finally, J.P. Morgan Private Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 3rd quarter valued at about $223,596,000. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Charles Aubrey Smith III sold 11,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.09, for a total value of $1,009,008.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 126,190 shares in the company, valued at $11,368,457.10. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Charles Aubrey Smith III sold 11,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.09, for a total value of $1,009,008.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 126,190 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,368,457.10. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.21, for a total transaction of $9,021,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 414,870 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $37,425,422.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 118,154 shares of company stock worth $10,722,696. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on MS. HSBC raised their target price on Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $98.30.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

MS stock traded up $0.61 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $97.84. 7,155,514 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,290,790. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $94.49 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $89.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.97, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.77. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $69.42 and a 52 week high of $103.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $159.01 billion, a PE ratio of 17.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.41.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.33. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 9.57% and a return on equity of 10.88%. The business had revenue of $15.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.42 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.70 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 6.83 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th were given a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 29th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.48%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 61.93%.

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.