BSW Wealth Partners Grows Stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

BSW Wealth Partners raised its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 9.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,488 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 480 shares during the quarter. BSW Wealth Partners’ holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $572,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 22.7% in the first quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 34,454 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,244,000 after purchasing an additional 6,370 shares during the period. Norden Group LLC raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 52.9% in the first quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 8,621 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $812,000 after purchasing an additional 2,981 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 6.6% in the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 244,126 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $21,489,000 after purchasing an additional 15,129 shares during the period. Choreo LLC increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 5.8% during the 1st quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 5,331 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $502,000 after acquiring an additional 291 shares during the period. Finally, BNP Paribas bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 1st quarter worth approximately $322,000. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 0.5 %

NYSE:MS traded up $0.60 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $116.85. 4,372,177 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,697,360. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $71.65 and a 12-month high of $121.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.96, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $107.02 and a 200-day moving average price of $101.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $189.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.79, a PEG ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.34.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st will be issued a $0.925 dividend. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.17%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 56.32%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on MS shares. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Oppenheimer lowered shares of Morgan Stanley from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday, July 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $109.24.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In related news, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 17th. The shares were 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 $16,488,718.71. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley 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.