713,976 Shares in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Purchased by International Assets Investment Management LLC

International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund acquired 713,976 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $89,761,000. Morgan Stanley makes up about 4.1% of International Assets Investment Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest position.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 75.2% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,850,848 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $881,493,000 after purchasing an additional 3,369,520 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 382.4% in the 3rd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 1,597,800 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $166,555,000 after buying an additional 1,266,600 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew 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 worth $2,335,495,000 after acquiring an additional 590,872 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 71.2% in the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 1,370,572 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $140,077,000 after acquiring an additional 569,789 shares during the period. Finally, Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley in the second quarter worth about $43,850,000. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Trading Down 0.7 %

Morgan Stanley stock traded down $0.94 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $125.94. The company had a trading volume of 837,788 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,672,079. The firm has a market cap of $202.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $127.89 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $112.02. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $83.09 and a 1 year high of $136.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $15.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.27 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 12.58% and a net margin of 10.64%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 7.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm 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 yield of 2.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.32%.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In related 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 sale, the director now owns 138,363 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,488,718.71. This trade represents a 30.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on MS shares. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $102.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Barclays upped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $135.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $108.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $125.80.

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.