Zions Bancorporation N.A. Buys 37,356 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Zions Bancorporation N.A. lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 826.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 41,877 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 37,356 shares during the period. Zions Bancorporation N.A.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $4,365,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Capital International Investors boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 16.3% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 28,481,070 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,681,778,000 after purchasing an additional 3,981,528 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 12,875,677 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,251,387,000 after purchasing an additional 303,654 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 10,597,493 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,029,970,000 after purchasing an additional 212,551 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 8,834,372 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $858,573,000 after purchasing an additional 242,896 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 7,151,492 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $672,969,000 after purchasing an additional 57,104 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

NYSE:MS opened at $132.75 on Thursday. 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 50-day simple moving average is $111.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $103.26. The company has a market cap of $213.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.34. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $76.33 and a 52-week high of $134.65.

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

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st will be given a $0.925 dividend. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.79%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 56.32%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on MS shares. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $108.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. HSBC upgraded Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $118.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, October 4th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday, July 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $109.24.

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.