Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Shares Acquired by Bridgewater Associates LP

Bridgewater Associates LP boosted its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 7,285.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 169,357 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 167,064 shares during the period. Bridgewater Associates LP’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $17,654,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.7% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 22,404,981 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,335,495,000 after buying an additional 590,872 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 12,875,677 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,251,387,000 after purchasing an additional 303,654 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 2.0% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 10,597,493 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,029,970,000 after purchasing an additional 212,551 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 8,834,372 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $858,573,000 after acquiring an additional 242,896 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 7,151,492 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $672,969,000 after acquiring an additional 57,104 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

NYSE MS opened at $131.20 on Thursday. 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 $211.37 billion, a PE ratio of 19.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.34. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $76.33 and a 12-month high of $136.24. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $118.10 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $105.96.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 10.64% and a return on equity of 12.58%. The firm had revenue of $15.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.27 billion. As a group, equities analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 7.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

MS has been the subject of several analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. HSBC lowered shares of 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. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $115.63.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 directly owns 138,363 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,488,718.71. This trade represents a 30.25 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

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.