Castleark Management LLC Has $10.78 Million Stock Holdings in Morgan Stanley $MS

Castleark Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 66.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 76,510 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 30,610 shares during the period. Castleark Management LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $10,777,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in MS. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 111.0% during the 1st quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 211 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the period. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 645.8% during the second quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 179 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. WFA of San Diego LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the second quarter worth $28,000. Compass Financial Services Inc bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the second quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Abound Wealth Management raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 58.5% during the second quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 252 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $171.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. UBS Group raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $156.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $165.00 to $177.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $122.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $156.00 to $183.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given 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 an average price target of $173.38.

Morgan Stanley Trading Down 1.0%

NYSE MS opened at $178.57 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 business has a fifty day simple moving average of $164.70 and a 200 day simple moving average of $151.23. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $94.33 and a 12 month high of $181.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $283.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.32, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.22.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.07 by $0.73. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 13.85% and a return on equity of 16.40%. The firm had revenue of $17.98 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.42 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.88 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 31st were given a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.03%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Morgan Stanley news, CEO Edward Pick sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 574,986 shares in the company, valued at approximately $94,493,199.24. This trade represents a 14.82% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

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.