Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Shares Purchased by Cerity Partners LLC

Cerity Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 21.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 247,677 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 43,664 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $25,818,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 1st quarter worth approximately $87,558,000. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the second quarter worth $43,850,000. Rokos Capital Management LLP purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the first quarter valued at $41,208,000. Raymond James & Associates grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 19.8% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 2,077,282 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $216,536,000 after purchasing an additional 343,234 shares in the last quarter. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 16,858.9% during the 2nd quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management now owns 339,348 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,773,000 after buying an additional 337,347 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

MS opened at $134.69 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $116.16 and its 200 day moving average price is $105.30. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $76.33 and a fifty-two week high of $135.67. The firm has a market cap of $216.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.34.

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

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were issued a dividend of $0.925 per share. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.75%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 56.32%.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In related news, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.17, for a total value of $7,150,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 138,363 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,488,718.71. This represents a 30.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MS has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $135.00 and gave the company 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 company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. HSBC upgraded Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $118.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, October 4th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $102.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $112.94.

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.