Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Grows Stock Holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 21.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 585,444 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 102,554 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $54,593,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 6.9% in the 4th quarter. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. now owns 8,837 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $824,000 after purchasing an additional 574 shares during the period. SVB Wealth LLC raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. SVB Wealth LLC now owns 18,958 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,768,000 after acquiring an additional 336 shares during the period. Eads & Heald Wealth Management raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. Eads & Heald Wealth Management now owns 5,548 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $517,000 after acquiring an additional 306 shares during the period. Emfo LLC raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 50.0% during the fourth quarter. Emfo LLC now owns 3,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $280,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Finally, Donaldson Capital Management LLC raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC now owns 52,582 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,903,000 after acquiring an additional 426 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 2.5 %

Shares of MS stock opened at $89.13 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.75. The firm has a market cap of $144.97 billion, a PE ratio of 17.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a 50-day moving average of $88.65 and a two-hundred day moving average of $84.78. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $69.42 and a 1-year high of $95.57.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.72 by $0.30. The company had revenue of $15.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.42 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 9.49% and a return on equity of 10.36%. Morgan Stanley’s revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.70 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 6.36 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $106.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Oppenheimer dropped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $109.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. HSBC upped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, Cfra upped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $95.66.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In related news, CFO Raja Akram sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.56, for a total value of $584,920.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 97,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,158,297.04. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Morgan Stanley news, CFO Raja Akram sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.56, for a total transaction of $584,920.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 97,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,158,297.04. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.93, for a total transaction of $4,396,500.00. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 400,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,172,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 208,155 shares of company stock valued at $18,149,314 over the last 90 days. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.