Stonebrook Private Inc. Takes $232,000 Position in Morgan Stanley $MS

Stonebrook Private Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 1,647 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $232,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Meridian Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 34.3% in the 1st quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 23,869 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,785,000 after acquiring an additional 6,092 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the first quarter valued at approximately $57,000. AGF Management Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 55.9% during the first quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 327,978 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $38,265,000 after acquiring an additional 117,615 shares during the period. Tlwm raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 1.8% during the first quarter. Tlwm now owns 13,863 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,617,000 after purchasing an additional 248 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the first quarter worth approximately $362,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 1.6%

Shares of MS opened at $162.45 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $160.33 and its 200 day moving average price is $145.89. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $258.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.33. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $94.33 and a 1-year high of $171.77.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.07 by $0.73. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 13.85% and a return on equity of 16.55%. The company had revenue of $17.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.42 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.88 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 31st were given a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.03%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In related news, CEO Edward Pick sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.34, for a total transaction of $16,434,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 574,986 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $94,493,199.24. The trade was a 14.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on Morgan Stanley in a report on Friday, October 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $180.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $165.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Finally, Dbs Bank raised shares of Morgan Stanley to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $168.23.

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.