Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Shares Acquired by Loomis Sayles & Co. L P

Loomis Sayles & Co. L P boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 62.1% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 54,496 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 20,871 shares during the quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $5,681,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 1,147.6% in the 2nd quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 262 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 241 shares during the period. Bank & Trust Co acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Finally, Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock opened at $131.20 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $211.37 billion, a PE ratio of 19.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.34. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $118.10 and a 200-day simple moving average of $105.96. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $76.33 and a 12 month high of $136.24.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.27 billion. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 7.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st were paid a $0.925 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.82%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 56.32%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised Morgan Stanley from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $107.00 to $142.00 in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target 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. HSBC lowered Morgan Stanley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $128.00 to $131.00 in a research note on Tuesday. Hsbc Global Res lowered Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $115.63.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $16,488,718.71. This trade represents a 30.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.