Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Shares Purchased by West Family Investments Inc.

West Family Investments Inc. raised its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 16.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,017 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 424 shares during the period. West Family Investments Inc.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $314,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 16.3% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 28,481,070 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,681,778,000 after buying an additional 3,981,528 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 600.8% in the 1st quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 1,301,835 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $122,581,000 after acquiring an additional 1,116,058 shares during the period. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the first quarter worth $87,558,000. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter worth $43,850,000. Finally, Rokos Capital Management LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the first quarter worth about $41,208,000. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.17, for a total value of $7,150,200.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 138,363 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,488,718.71. The trade was a 30.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $107.00 to $142.00 in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $108.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $111.29.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of MS opened at $132.21 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The company has a market capitalization of $213.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.34. The business’s 50-day moving average is $113.97 and its 200-day moving average is $104.49. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $76.33 and a fifty-two week high of $135.51.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.57 by $0.31. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 12.58% and a net margin of 10.64%. The firm had revenue of $15.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.27 billion. Equities research analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 7.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were given a dividend of $0.925 per share. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 56.32%.

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.