CW Advisors LLC Acquires 5,609 Shares of Morgan Stanley $MS

CW Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 19.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 35,125 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,609 shares during the quarter. CW Advisors LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $4,948,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the second quarter valued at about $2,234,883,000. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 1st quarter valued at about $767,506,000. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $343,236,000. Schroder Investment Management Group grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 23.4% during the 2nd quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 9,357,200 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,318,055,000 after acquiring an additional 1,776,544 shares during the period. Finally, Axiom Investors LLC DE increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 99.9% in the 1st quarter. Axiom Investors LLC DE now owns 3,111,979 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $363,075,000 after acquiring an additional 1,555,015 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Edward Pick sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 574,986 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $94,493,199.24. This 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 available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of MS stock opened at $176.64 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $280.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.22. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $94.33 and a 12-month high of $177.32. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $162.61 and its 200-day moving average price is $149.26.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.07 by $0.73. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 16.40% and a net margin of 13.85%.The company had revenue of $17.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.42 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.88 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Investors of record on Friday, October 31st were issued a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 31st. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.03%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MS has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Dbs Bank raised shares of Morgan Stanley to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 12th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $175.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $156.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, Citigroup upped 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. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.