Pacer Advisors Inc. Has $7.76 Million Stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 2.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 83,163 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,297 shares during the quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $7,755,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth approximately $956,566,000. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 125,756.8% during the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 10,641,190 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $904,714,000 after purchasing an additional 10,632,735 shares during the period. Boston Partners bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the third quarter worth $477,765,000. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the first quarter valued at $451,711,000. Finally, FMR LLC raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 21.2% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 23,474,452 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,917,159,000 after purchasing an additional 4,098,577 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 2.4 %

Shares of NYSE MS opened at $93.50 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.75. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $87.13 and a 200-day moving average price of $84.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $152.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.43. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $69.42 and a 1 year high of $95.57.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $12.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.77 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 10.36% and a net margin of 9.49%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.31 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 6.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 31st were paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.64%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.76%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on MS. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $89.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 19th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $106.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $87.00 price objective (down from $94.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Oppenheimer dropped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $109.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $94.23.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In related news, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.30, for a total transaction of $8,730,000.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 350,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,555,000. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.13, for a total transaction of $841,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 323,490 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,215,213.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.30, for a total value of $8,730,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 350,000 shares in the company, valued at $30,555,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 208,155 shares of company stock worth $18,149,314 in the last quarter. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Morgan Stanley 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.