Morgan Stanley $MS Shares Acquired by Boston Partners

Boston Partners lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 0.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,867,159 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 11,861 shares during the quarter. Boston Partners owned approximately 0.24% of Morgan Stanley worth $544,651,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MS. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 90.2% during the 2nd quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 22,996 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,239,000 after purchasing an additional 10,903 shares during the last quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 18.4% in the second quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC now owns 6,081 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $857,000 after buying an additional 946 shares in the last quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 56.3% in the second quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 112,885 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $15,901,000 after buying an additional 40,647 shares in the last quarter. Columbia Bank lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 4.2% during the 2nd quarter. Columbia Bank now owns 14,441 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,038,000 after buying an additional 588 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 13,986.1% during the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 45,498 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,409,000 after acquiring an additional 45,175 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, CEO Edward Pick sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.34, for a total value of $16,434,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 574,986 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $94,493,199.24. This trade represents a 14.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.19% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 1.6%

NYSE:MS opened at $165.37 on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $94.33 and a 12-month high of $171.77. 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 stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $160.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $147.24. The firm has a market cap of $262.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.96, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.33.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.07 by $0.73. The company had revenue of $17.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.42 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 13.85% and a return on equity of 16.55%. Morgan Stanley’s revenue was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.88 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 31st were paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is 41.03%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MS has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $175.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $176.00 to $184.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $180.00 price target for the company. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $173.38.

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.