National Pension Service Boosts Stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

National Pension Service boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 2.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,022,035 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 40,583 shares during the period. National Pension Service’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $188,555,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. CGC Financial Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 5,200.0% during the 4th quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 265 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 77.3% during the third quarter. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc now owns 328 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the period. Fortitude Family Office LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 123.2% in the 3rd quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 442 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 244 shares during the period. Finally, Front Row Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 220.6% during the 3rd quarter. Front Row Advisors LLC now owns 452 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 311 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 26,655 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider now owns 286,835 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,009,143.65. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 26,655 shares of Morgan Stanley 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 286,835 shares in the company, valued at $25,009,143.65. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chairman now owns 414,870 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,425,422.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 237,855 shares of company stock valued at $21,084,057 in the last three months. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 1.7 %

MS stock traded up $1.63 during trading on Thursday, hitting $97.27. 2,635,570 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,345,274. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $90.69 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $86.30. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $158.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.42, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.41. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $69.42 and a 52-week high of $97.58.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 the consensus estimate of $14.42 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.70 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 6.84 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be given a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.50%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 61.93%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on MS shares. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $101.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and set a $87.00 target price (down from $94.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $98.30.

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.