Quilter Plc Raises Stock Position in Morgan Stanley $MS

Quilter Plc increased its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 91.5% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 9,420 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,500 shares during the period. Quilter Plc’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $1,327,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MS. Meadow Creek Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter. Meadow Creek Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,799 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $394,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the period. Gallagher Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Gallagher Capital Advisors LLC now owns 9,969 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,420,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp now owns 3,007 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $430,000 after buying an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 12.1% in the second quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc now owns 674 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $95,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.5% in the second quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 5,022 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $707,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 1.6%

MS stock opened at $162.45 on Thursday. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $94.33 and a twelve month high of $171.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30. The stock has a market cap of $258.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.66, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.33. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $160.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $145.89.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.07 by $0.73. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 13.85% and a return on equity of 16.55%. The company had revenue of $17.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.42 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.88 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on MS shares. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $156.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $175.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Citigroup raised their target price on Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $171.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Finally, Dbs Bank upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 12th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $168.23.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

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

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.