Investors Purchase Large Volume of Call Options on Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) saw unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Traders acquired 94,836 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 222% compared to the average volume of 29,408 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MS has been the topic of a number of research reports. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $95.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $109.24.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 1.2 %

MS stock traded down $1.38 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $117.92. 5,654,015 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,070,833. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $70.27 and a twelve month high of $121.45. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $106.06 and a 200 day simple moving average of $100.74. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.96. The company has a market capitalization of $191.64 billion, a PE ratio of 18.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.36.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be paid a $0.925 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.14%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is currently 56.32%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Morgan Stanley

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MS. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.6% during the third quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 3,748 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $391,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA now owns 33,850 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,529,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Lansing Street Advisors boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Lansing Street Advisors now owns 12,284 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,280,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the period. Viewpoint Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.9% in the second quarter. Viewpoint Capital Management LLC now owns 12,319 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,197,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allen Mooney & Barnes Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 4.3% during the third quarter. Allen Mooney & Barnes Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,551 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $266,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.