Morgan Stanley $MS Shares Purchased by Fisher Asset Management LLC

Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 1.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 26,581,811 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 408,816 shares during the quarter. Morgan Stanley comprises 1.5% of Fisher Asset Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 18th largest holding. Fisher Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $4,999,507,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MS. Crown Wealth Group LLC grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.2% during the 2nd quarter. Crown Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,532 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $320,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the period. Hughes Financial Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 55.7% in the 2nd quarter. Hughes Financial Services LLC now owns 137 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 35.7% during the 2nd quarter. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. now owns 194 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the period. Financial Management Professionals Inc. lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 8,245 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,724,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the period. Finally, Bank OZK boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 3.0% during the second quarter. Bank OZK now owns 1,815 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $379,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other news, Director Judith Miscik sold 2,480 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.21, for a total transaction of $454,360.80. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 64,215 shares in the company, valued at $11,764,830.15. This trade represents a 3.72% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Morgan Stanley

These are some of the MS headlines that stood out recently:

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley agreed to acquire Vinyl Equity, a digital transfer agent that provides share transfers, shareholder recordkeeping and cap-table services. Bringing these capabilities in-house could deepen the firm’s services to corporate clients and strengthen links to its workplace and wealth-management businesses. Why Is Morgan Stanley Bringing Transfer Agency In House?
• Neutral Sentiment: Investors are weighing Morgan Stanley’s recent digital initiatives, including transfer agency and tokenization, against whether its returns on capital justify its strong multiyear share-price gains. The coverage raises a valuation question but does not report a new change to earnings or guidance. Can Morgan Stanley Justify Its Price After New Digital Moves?
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley director Judith Miscik sold 2,480 shares for about $454,000, reducing her stake by 3.72%. The sale is a modest potential sentiment headwind given her substantial remaining holding. Morgan Stanley Director Sells Shares

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on MS. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $230.00 to $262.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, October 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $230.00 price objective (down from $250.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. Citigroup reduced their target price on Morgan Stanley from $210.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $195.00 to $198.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $214.81.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MS opened at $189.36 on Friday. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $152.80 and a twelve month high of $232.25. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $193.28 and its 200-day moving average is $194.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $295.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.03, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.23.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 14th. The financial services provider reported $3.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.93 by $0.10. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 15.63% and a return on equity of 19.26%. The business had revenue of $20.34 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.93 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.80 EPS. Morgan Stanley’s revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 12.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Investors of record on Friday, October 30th will be given a dividend of $1.15 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 30th. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.51%.

Morgan Stanley Company Profile

Morgan Stanley is a global financial services company that provides investment banking, securities, wealth management and investment management services to corporations, governments, institutions and individuals. Its Institutional Securities business offers services such as financial advisory, capital raising, sales and trading, and research. The company also provides financial planning, brokerage and banking services through its Wealth Management business, while its Investment Management business offers investment strategies and portfolio management to a range of clients.