Public Sector Pension Investment Board Increases Stock Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 2.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 217,396 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 5,213 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $22,661,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in MS. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 1,147.6% in the second quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 262 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares during the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the second quarter valued at about $26,000. Finally, Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the second quarter valued at about $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $131.20 on Thursday. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $76.33 and a twelve month high of $136.24. 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 company has a market capitalization of $211.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.97, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.34. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $118.10 and its 200 day moving average is $105.96.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.57 by $0.31. The firm had revenue of $15.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.27 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 12.58% and a net margin of 10.64%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 7.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MS. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $108.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Morgan Stanley from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $107.00 to $142.00 in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on Morgan Stanley from $102.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $115.63.

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 stock was 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 $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 at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

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.