32,046 Shares in Morgan Stanley $MS Acquired by ABC Arbitrage SA

ABC Arbitrage SA bought a new position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 32,046 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $4,514,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 6.9% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 117,769,345 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $13,740,149,000 after purchasing an additional 7,636,547 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 1st quarter worth about $767,506,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 21.2% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 17,056,916 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,990,030,000 after acquiring an additional 2,989,122 shares during the period. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter worth about $343,236,000. Finally, Axiom Investors LLC DE raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 99.9% during the first quarter. Axiom Investors LLC DE now owns 3,111,979 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $363,075,000 after acquiring an additional 1,555,015 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In related news, CEO Edward Pick sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.34, for a total value of $16,434,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 574,986 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $94,493,199.24. This trade represents a 14.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of MS opened at $166.41 on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $94.33 and a 12-month high of $167.13. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $158.75 and its 200 day moving average price is $144.13. The firm has a market cap of $264.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.33.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.07 by $0.73. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 16.55% and a net margin of 13.85%.The company had revenue of $18.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.42 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.88 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Investors of record on Friday, October 31st will be issued a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 31st. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.03%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MS has been the topic of several recent research reports. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $156.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Zacks Research upgraded Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $165.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $180.00 target price for the company. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $168.23.

About Morgan Stanley

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.