Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Shares Bought by AM Investment Strategies LLC

AM Investment Strategies LLC raised its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 21.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 20,197 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,547 shares during the quarter. Morgan Stanley comprises 0.5% of AM Investment Strategies LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest position. AM Investment Strategies LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $1,883,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of MS. Boston Partners acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 3rd quarter valued at about $477,765,000. FMR LLC raised 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 acquiring an additional 4,098,577 shares during the period. J.P. Morgan Private Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $223,596,000. California Public Employees Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 53.1% in the 3rd quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 4,015,294 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $327,929,000 after acquiring an additional 1,393,065 shares during the period. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 229.0% in the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,215,753 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $113,369,000 after acquiring an additional 846,266 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MS has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. TheStreet raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. HSBC upped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Cfra upped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $91.00 target price on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $98.07.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE:MS traded down $1.27 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $92.58. The stock had a trading volume of 6,769,715 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,779,114. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $69.42 and a 1 year high of $95.57. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $89.55 and its 200-day moving average is $85.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 0.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $150.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.86, a P/E/G ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.43.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.33. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 9.57% and a return on equity of 10.87%. The business had revenue of $15.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.42 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.70 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 6.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be issued a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 61.93%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 26,655 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.19, for a total value of $2,324,049.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 286,835 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,009,143.65. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.92, for a total transaction of $879,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 313,490 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,562,040.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 26,655 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.19, for a total transaction of $2,324,049.45. Following the sale, the insider now owns 286,835 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,009,143.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 252,355 shares of company stock worth $22,356,602. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

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.