Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Shares Purchased by Cerity Partners LLC

Cerity Partners LLC boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 21.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 247,677 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 43,664 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $25,818,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MS. Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 1st quarter valued at $87,558,000. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the second quarter worth about $43,850,000. Rokos Capital Management LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the first quarter worth about $41,208,000. Raymond James & Associates boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 19.8% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 2,077,282 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $216,536,000 after purchasing an additional 343,234 shares during the period. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 16,858.9% in the second quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management now owns 339,348 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,773,000 after purchasing an additional 337,347 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of MS opened at $134.69 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $76.33 and a 1-year high of $135.67. 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 firm has a fifty day moving average price of $116.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $105.30.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted 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 business had revenue of $15.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.27 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 12.58% and a net margin of 10.64%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 7.32 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were issued a $0.925 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.75%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 56.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Morgan Stanley news, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the director now owns 138,363 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,488,718.71. This represents a 30.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. HSBC upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $118.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, October 4th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $108.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” 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 report on Friday, October 4th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.