Jmac Enterprises LLC Boosts Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Jmac Enterprises LLC lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 14.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,100 shares during the period. Jmac Enterprises LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $907,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MS. Bayesian Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 1st quarter valued at about $2,660,000. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 17.8% during the 2nd quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,768 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $561,000 after acquiring an additional 871 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 115.0% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 223,668 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $20,305,000 after acquiring an additional 119,633 shares in the last quarter. AIA Group Ltd increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 96.6% in the 1st quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 33,598 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,164,000 after purchasing an additional 16,507 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 1st quarter valued at about $87,558,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of MS opened at $129.96 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $108.19 and a two-hundred day moving average of $101.92. The stock has a market cap of $211.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.00, a PEG ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.96, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $73.96 and a one year high of $133.52.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st will be paid a $0.925 dividend. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.85%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is 56.32%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on MS shares. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $102.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. HSBC upgraded Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $118.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $109.24.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 138,363 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,488,718.71. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

About Morgan Stanley

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.