Baird Financial Group Inc. Raises Holdings in Morgan Stanley $MS

Baird Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 307,484 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,827 shares during the quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $43,312,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 1.1% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 119,123,487 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $16,779,734,000 after buying an additional 1,354,142 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.2% in the second quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 24,045,186 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,387,005,000 after acquiring an additional 749,150 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter worth about $2,234,883,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 13,807,153 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,610,881,000 after acquiring an additional 403,956 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 13,063,819 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,523,337,000 after acquiring an additional 219,729 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

MS stock opened at $174.87 on Friday. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $94.33 and a 1 year high of $176.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $277.92 billion, a PE ratio of 17.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.22. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $162.28 and a 200-day simple moving average of $148.94.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $17.98 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.42 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 16.40% and a net margin of 13.85%.The firm’s revenue was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.88 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 31st were given a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 31st. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is presently 41.03%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on MS shares. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on Morgan Stanley in a report on Friday, October 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $180.00 price target for the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $164.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Dbs Bank upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 12th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $173.38.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Edward Pick sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.34, for a total transaction of $16,434,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 574,986 shares in the company, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

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.