Primecap Management Co. CA Has $151.24 Million Stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Primecap Management Co. CA trimmed its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 3.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,450,907 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 54,994 shares during the quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA owned about 0.09% of Morgan Stanley worth $151,243,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1,147.6% in the second quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 262 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 241 shares during the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Finally, Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on MS. UBS Group upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $102.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Barclays lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $108.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $112.94.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 2.6 %

MS stock opened at $135.17 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $115.43 and a 200 day simple moving average of $104.89. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $76.33 and a 52 week high of $135.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14. The company has a market cap of $217.76 billion, a PE ratio of 20.57, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 return on equity of 12.58% and a net margin of 10.64%. Sell-side analysts anticipate 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 issued a dividend of $0.925 per share. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.74%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 56.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 138,363 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,488,718.71. This trade represents a 30.25 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.