AustralianSuper Pty Ltd Makes New Investment in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

AustralianSuper Pty Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 49,602 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $5,171,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of MS. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.6% during the third quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 3,748 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $391,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA now owns 33,850 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,529,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Viewpoint Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Viewpoint Capital Management LLC now owns 12,319 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,197,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Allen Mooney & Barnes Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 4.3% during the third quarter. Allen Mooney & Barnes Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,551 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $266,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares during the period. Finally, WR Wealth Planners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 24.4% in the second quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 541 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on MS. HSBC upgraded Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $118.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, October 4th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $108.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $95.00 to $107.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Oppenheimer downgraded Morgan Stanley from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $109.24.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.17, for a total transaction of $7,150,200.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 138,363 shares in the company, valued at $16,488,718.71. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock opened at $116.23 on Friday. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $70.27 and a one year high of $121.45. The company has a market cap of $188.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.69, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.36. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $106.72 and its 200 day moving average price is $100.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.96, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st will be issued a $0.925 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.18%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is presently 56.32%.

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.