Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Stake Boosted by Sivia Capital Partners LLC

Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 17.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,661 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 399 shares during the quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $277,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 0.3% in the third quarter. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA now owns 33,850 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,529,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Viewpoint Capital Management LLC increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 0.9% in the second quarter. Viewpoint Capital Management LLC now owns 12,319 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,197,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the period. WR Wealth Planners LLC increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 24.4% in the second quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 541 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the period. Atomi Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 0.8% during the third quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 12,893 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,344,000 after buying an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brookstone Capital Management boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 1.6% during the third quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 7,028 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $733,000 after buying an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $91.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered Morgan Stanley from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $99.00 to $95.00 in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Barclays raised their target price on Morgan Stanley from $116.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Hsbc Global Res raised Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $103.06.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Morgan Stanley news, Director Robert H. Herz sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.62, for a total value of $106,620.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 95,908 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,225,710.96. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Robert H. Herz sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.62, for a total value of $106,620.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 95,908 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,225,710.96. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 200,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.06, for a total value of $21,012,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 150,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,759,000. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 252,000 shares of company stock worth $26,546,370 in the last three months. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of MS stock traded up $1.30 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $111.76. 3,425,083 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,009,159. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.96, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78. The firm has a market cap of $181.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $101.02 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $98.56. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $69.42 and a fifty-two week high of $111.81.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 previous year, the company posted $1.24 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 6.95 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st were issued a $0.925 dividend. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.31%. This is a boost from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 67.40%.

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.