Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Shares Bought by Baker Avenue Asset Management LP

Baker Avenue Asset Management LP grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 10.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,260 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 309 shares during the quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $340,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of MS. Capital International Investors increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 16.3% during the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 28,481,070 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,681,778,000 after acquiring an additional 3,981,528 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 600.8% during the 1st quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 1,301,835 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $122,581,000 after purchasing an additional 1,116,058 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 1st quarter worth approximately $87,558,000. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 433.4% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 779,451 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $73,392,000 after purchasing an additional 633,319 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $43,850,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In related news, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.17, for a total transaction of $7,150,200.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 138,363 shares in the company, valued at $16,488,718.71. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $133.52 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The company has a market cap of $215.11 billion, a PE ratio of 20.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.34. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $74.55 and a 12 month high of $133.99. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $109.23 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $102.48.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted 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 company had revenue of $15.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.27 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 12.58% and a net margin of 10.64%. Research analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 7.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be paid a $0.925 dividend. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.77%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 56.32%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Oppenheimer downgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Barclays increased their target price 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 lifted their price objective on shares of 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 shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $118.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $95.00 to $107.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $109.24.

Morgan Stanley 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.