SevenBridge Financial Group LLC Has $3.04 Million Stock Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

SevenBridge Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 4.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 29,113 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,139 shares during the quarter. SevenBridge Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $3,035,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MS. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.8% during 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 buying an additional 36,120 shares during the last quarter. Bayesian Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 1st quarter worth approximately $2,660,000. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 worth $561,000 after purchasing an additional 871 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 115.0% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 223,668 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $20,305,000 after purchasing an additional 119,633 shares during the period. Finally, Swedbank AB acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the first quarter valued at $87,558,000. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other news, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.17, for a total value of $7,150,200.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 138,363 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,488,718.71. This trade represents a 30.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on MS. HSBC upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $118.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $107.00 to $142.00 in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $108.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Morgan Stanley from $106.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $112.94.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $134.69 on Friday. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $76.33 and a 12-month high of $135.67. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $116.16 and a 200 day simple moving average of $105.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $216.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.34.

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

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were paid a $0.925 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.75%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 56.32%.

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.