Empowered Funds LLC Boosts Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 44.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 65,907 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 20,160 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $6,870,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MS. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the second quarter valued at $25,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1,147.6% during the second quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 262 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 241 shares during the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Finally, Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.17, for a total transaction of $7,150,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 138,363 shares in the company, valued at $16,488,718.71. This trade represents a 30.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

NYSE:MS opened at $134.06 on Friday. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $76.33 and a twelve month high of $134.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $215.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.40, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $112.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $103.84.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.57 by $0.31. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 12.58% and a net margin of 10.64%. The company had revenue of $15.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.27 billion. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 7.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were given a $0.925 dividend. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 56.32%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MS has been the topic of several analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $108.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $102.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. HSBC upgraded Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $118.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Morgan Stanley from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $107.00 to $142.00 in a research note on Friday. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $111.29.

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.