Ensign Peak Advisors Inc Has $281.11 Million Stock Position in Morgan Stanley $MS

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc lessened its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 18.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,995,635 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 440,871 shares during the quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $281,105,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MS. Quilter Plc lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 91.5% during the 2nd quarter. Quilter Plc now owns 9,420 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,327,000 after purchasing an additional 4,500 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.6% during the second quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 45,122 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,356,000 after buying an additional 275 shares in the last quarter. Nicholas Wealth LLC. raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 10.5% in the 2nd quarter. Nicholas Wealth LLC. now owns 10,732 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,512,000 after buying an additional 1,022 shares during the last quarter. ARS Investment Partners LLC lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 7,577.1% in the 2nd quarter. ARS Investment Partners LLC now owns 130,510 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $18,384,000 after acquiring an additional 128,810 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alteri Wealth LLC boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter. Alteri Wealth LLC now owns 2,277 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $321,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

NYSE:MS opened at $162.45 on Thursday. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $94.33 and a one year high of $171.77. The company has a market cap of $258.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.33. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $160.33 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $145.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.07 by $0.73. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 16.55% and a net margin of 13.85%.The company had revenue of $17.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.42 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.88 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 31st were issued a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.03%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on MS. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on Morgan Stanley in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $180.00 price target for the company. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $175.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $122.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $168.23.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Edward Pick sold 100,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on Friday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.34, for a total transaction of $16,434,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 574,986 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $94,493,199.24. This trade represents a 14.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.