Stifel Financial Corp Grows Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Stifel Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 4.2% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,607,923 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 64,999 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $167,611,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 382.4% in the third quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 1,597,800 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $166,555,000 after acquiring an additional 1,266,600 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 22,404,981 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,335,495,000 after purchasing an additional 590,872 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 71.2% during the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 1,370,572 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $140,077,000 after purchasing an additional 569,789 shares during the period. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the second quarter valued at approximately $43,850,000. Finally, Erste Asset Management GmbH purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley in the third quarter valued at about $46,067,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 17th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $16,488,718.71. The trade was a 30.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

NYSE:MS opened at $130.33 on Friday. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $79.32 and a 12-month high of $136.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $209.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.35. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $121.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $107.21. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.57 by $0.31. The firm had revenue of $15.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.27 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 10.64% and a return on equity of 12.58%. On average, analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 7.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were given a dividend of $0.925 per share. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.84%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is presently 56.32%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Citigroup lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $106.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Morgan Stanley from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $107.00 to $142.00 in a report on Friday, November 15th. HSBC lowered shares of Morgan Stanley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their target price for the company from $128.00 to $131.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $120.67.

About Morgan Stanley

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.