246,955 Shares in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Acquired by Ninety One UK Ltd

Ninety One UK Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 246,955 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $23,029,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. CGC Financial Services LLC raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 5,200.0% during the 4th quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 265 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 260 shares during the period. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 77.3% during the 3rd quarter. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc now owns 328 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. RVW Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 810.8% during the 3rd quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 337 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Coppell Advisory Solutions Corp. purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 26,655 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.19, for a total value of $2,324,049.45. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 286,835 shares in the company, valued at $25,009,143.65. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Morgan Stanley news, CFO Raja Akram sold 4,500 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.41, for a total value of $393,345.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 93,134 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,140,842.94. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 26,655 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.19, for a total transaction of $2,324,049.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 286,835 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,009,143.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 191,155 shares of company stock worth $16,723,094. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on MS shares. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $101.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. 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 research report on Tuesday. Finally, TheStreet upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $97.79.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

MS stock opened at $90.23 on Friday. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $69.42 and a 1 year high of $95.57. The company has a market cap of $146.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.44, a PEG ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.43. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $88.82 and a 200 day moving average of $84.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.75.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.33. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 9.57% and a return on equity of 10.87%. The company had revenue of $15.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.42 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.70 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 6.53 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be given a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 29th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.77%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is presently 61.93%.

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.