Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Shares Purchased by Townsquare Capital LLC

Townsquare Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 9.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 73,872 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,303 shares during the quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $7,700,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.8% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,711,805 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $491,159,000 after purchasing an additional 36,120 shares during the last quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 17.8% in the second quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,768 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $561,000 after acquiring an additional 871 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 115.0% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 223,668 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $20,305,000 after acquiring an additional 119,633 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley in the first quarter valued at $87,558,000. Finally, Catalytic Wealth RIA LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley in the third quarter valued at $579,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE MS opened at $131.20 on Thursday. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $76.33 and a 1 year high of $136.24. The firm has a market cap of $211.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.97, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $118.10 and its 200-day simple moving average is $105.96.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.57 by $0.31. The business had revenue of $15.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.27 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 12.58% and a net margin of 10.64%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 7.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st were paid a $0.925 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.82%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 56.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 in the company, valued at approximately $16,488,718.71. This trade represents a 30.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MS has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. 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. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Barclays lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. HSBC cut Morgan Stanley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $128.00 to $131.00 in a report on Tuesday. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $102.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $115.63.

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.