Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Shares Purchased by LPL Financial LLC

LPL Financial LLC raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 17.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,656,079 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 247,171 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial LLC owned 0.10% of Morgan Stanley worth $172,630,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of MS. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 0.8% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,711,805 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $491,159,000 after acquiring an additional 36,120 shares in the last quarter. Bayesian Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 1st quarter worth approximately $2,660,000. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 17.8% in the 2nd quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,768 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $561,000 after purchasing an additional 871 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 115.0% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 223,668 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $20,305,000 after buying an additional 119,633 shares during the period. Finally, Swedbank AB acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the first quarter worth $87,558,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MS has been the topic of a number of research reports. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $102.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $106.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $108.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $112.94.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 2.6 %

Shares of NYSE:MS opened at $135.17 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $217.76 billion, a PE ratio of 20.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.34. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $115.43 and a 200 day moving average of $104.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $76.33 and a 52-week high of $135.57.

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

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were issued a $0.925 dividend. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.74%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 56.32%.

Insider Activity

In other Morgan Stanley news, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.17, for a total value of $7,150,200.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 138,363 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,488,718.71. The trade was a 30.25 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.