Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Stock Position Boosted by Swedbank AB

Swedbank AB boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 1.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 837,985 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 13,231 shares during the period. Swedbank AB owned 0.05% of Morgan Stanley worth $87,352,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MS. Norway Savings Bank purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the third quarter valued at about $210,000. Occidental Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 5.1% in the third quarter. Occidental Asset Management LLC now owns 39,361 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,103,000 after purchasing an additional 1,918 shares in the last quarter. Allen Mooney & Barnes Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 4.3% in the third quarter. Allen Mooney & Barnes Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,551 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $266,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 4.2% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 220,114 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $22,945,000 after purchasing an additional 8,902 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wesbanco Bank Inc. lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.9% in the third quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 160,458 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $16,726,000 after purchasing an additional 5,984 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of MS stock opened at $112.22 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $101.81 and a 200-day moving average of $98.81. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $69.42 and a one year high of $116.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.96, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The stock has a market cap of $182.38 billion, a PE ratio of 20.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.36.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.17. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 11.85% and a net margin of 10.17%. The firm had revenue of $15.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.32 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.24 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 6.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Mandell Crawley sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.25, for a total value of $368,375.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 43,224 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,549,326. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Mandell Crawley sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.25, for a total transaction of $368,375.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 43,224 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,549,326. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Raja Akram sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.37, for a total value of $797,775.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 87,119 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,266,848.03. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on MS. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. HSBC raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $118.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of Morgan Stanley from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $99.00 to $95.00 in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $103.06.

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.