German American Bancorp Inc. Raises Stock Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

German American Bancorp Inc. raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 8.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 77,420 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,738 shares during the quarter. German American Bancorp Inc.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $8,070,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of MS. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 0.8% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,711,805 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $491,159,000 after purchasing an additional 36,120 shares in the last quarter. Bayesian Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the first quarter valued at approximately $2,660,000. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 17.8% during the 2nd quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,768 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $561,000 after purchasing an additional 871 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 115.0% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 223,668 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $20,305,000 after buying an additional 119,633 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $87,558,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 138,363 shares in the company, valued at $16,488,718.71. This trade represents a 30.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE MS opened at $131.69 on Thursday. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $76.33 and a 1 year high of $135.51. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $114.66 and its 200-day simple moving average is $104.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. The firm has a market cap of $212.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.04, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.34.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.57 by $0.31. The company had revenue of $15.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.27 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 12.58% and a net margin of 10.64%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 7.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were given a $0.925 dividend. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.81%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is currently 56.32%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on MS shares. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price 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 raised Morgan Stanley from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $107.00 to $142.00 in a report on Friday, November 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $106.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $102.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $112.94.

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.