Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Raises Stock Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 0.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 10,971,995 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 15,622 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned about 0.68% of Morgan Stanley worth $1,143,720,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Morgan Stanley news, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the director now owns 138,363 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,488,718.71. This represents a 30.25 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 1.6 %

NYSE:MS opened at $133.83 on Thursday. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $76.33 and a 1-year high of $135.51. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $114.66 and a 200 day simple moving average of $104.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $215.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.34. 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 issued its quarterly 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. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 10.64% and a return on equity of 12.58%. The business had revenue of $15.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.27 billion. Sell-side analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 7.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st were given a dividend of $0.925 per share. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 56.32%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on MS shares. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Barclays raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Morgan Stanley from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $107.00 to $142.00 in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $108.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Ten equities research 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $112.94.

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.