Swedbank AB Increases Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Swedbank AB lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 837,985 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,231 shares during the period. Swedbank AB’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $87,352,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MS. Bayesian Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley in the first quarter valued at approximately $2,660,000. Dynasty Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 1st quarter worth $1,927,000. Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 14.0% in the first quarter. Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co now owns 50,527 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,758,000 after acquiring an additional 6,198 shares during the last quarter. Creekmur Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 26.6% in the first quarter. Creekmur Asset Management LLC now owns 1,066 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $100,000 after acquiring an additional 224 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.6% during the first quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 60,228 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,671,000 after purchasing an additional 1,524 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock opened at $134.69 on Monday. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $76.33 and a 12 month high of $135.67. 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 stock has a market cap of $216.99 billion, a PE ratio of 20.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.34. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $116.16 and a 200-day simple moving average of $105.30.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.57 by $0.31. The company 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%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 7.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were paid a dividend of $0.925 per share. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 56.32%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on MS shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised Morgan Stanley from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $107.00 to $142.00 in a report on Friday, November 15th. Barclays increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price 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. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target 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. Finally, HSBC upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $118.00 price objective on the stock in a research note 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 data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $112.94.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the director now owns 138,363 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,488,718.71. The trade was a 30.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.24% of the stock is currently 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.