Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Shares Purchased by Toroso Investments LLC

Toroso Investments LLC boosted its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS – Get Rating) by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 20,446 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 714 shares during the quarter. Toroso Investments LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $1,615,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MS. Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 103.2% during the 3rd quarter. Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC now owns 315 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Surevest LLC increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 37.0% during the 3rd quarter. Surevest LLC now owns 411 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 118.9% during the 3rd quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 475 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 258 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Trustcore Financial Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 69.3% during the 3rd quarter. Trustcore Financial Services LLC now owns 574 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 235 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.48% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 3.3 %

NYSE MS opened at $84.18 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $141.59 billion, a PE ratio of 13.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.37. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $72.05 and a fifty-two week high of $100.99. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $95.40 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $88.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.57.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS – Get Rating) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $12.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.16 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 12.06% and a net margin of 16.73%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 7.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 31st were paid a dividend of $0.775 per share. This represents a $3.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.49%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on MS. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $90.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 18th. Odeon Capital Group upgraded Morgan Stanley from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $88.75 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 10th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $102.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $80.00 to $90.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 18th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $92.00 to $84.00 in a report on Friday, January 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $97.28.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 24,556 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.23, for a total transaction of $2,412,135.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 190,440 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,706,921.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CFO Raja Akram sold 5,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.00, for a total transaction of $494,700.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 118,558 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,500,126. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 24,556 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.23, for a total value of $2,412,135.88. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 190,440 shares in the company, valued at $18,706,921.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 341,699 shares of company stock worth $33,143,046. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Morgan Stanley Profile

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Morgan Stanley operates as a global financial services company. The firm provides investment banking products and services to its clients and customers including corporations, governments, financial institutions, and individuals. It operates through the following segments: Institutional Securities, Wealth Management, and Investment Management.