State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Has $57.23 Million Stake in Morgan Stanley $MS

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 406,318 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,625 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $57,234,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Meridian Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 34.3% during the first quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 23,869 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,785,000 after acquiring an additional 6,092 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the first quarter valued at about $57,000. AGF Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 55.9% during the first quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 327,978 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $38,265,000 after acquiring an additional 117,615 shares during the period. Tlwm boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 1.8% during the first quarter. Tlwm now owns 13,863 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,617,000 after acquiring an additional 248 shares during the period. Finally, Alley Investment Management Company LLC boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 75.0% during the first quarter. Alley Investment Management Company LLC now owns 62,469 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,288,000 after acquiring an additional 26,763 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Friday, October 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $180.00 price target for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $176.00 to $184.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $122.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $168.23.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 2.8%

Shares of MS opened at $163.78 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $261.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $94.33 and a 12 month high of $166.77. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $154.69 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $138.87.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.07 by $0.73. The firm had revenue of $18.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.42 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 13.85% and a return on equity of 16.55%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.88 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 31st will be issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 31st. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.03%.

Morgan Stanley announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, July 1st that permits the company to buyback $20.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire up to 8.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.