Morgan Stanley Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:MS)

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) was the target of unusually large options trading on Thursday. Stock traders acquired 37,411 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 39% compared to the typical daily volume of 26,873 call options.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Morgan Stanley

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 474.3% in the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 21,134 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,203,000 after acquiring an additional 17,454 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,711,805 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $491,159,000 after purchasing an additional 36,120 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 1,152,937 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $120,182,000 after buying an additional 16,350 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of 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 worth $881,493,000 after buying an additional 3,369,520 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Catalytic Wealth RIA LLC bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the third quarter worth $579,000. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 2.6 %

NYSE MS traded up $3.45 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $134.00. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 9,208,198 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,002,846. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $83.09 and a 52-week high of $136.24. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $128.74 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $113.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $215.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.36.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its 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. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 12.58% and a net margin of 10.64%. The business had revenue of $15.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.27 billion. Research analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 7.39 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.925 per share. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.76%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 56.32%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on MS shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $106.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of 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 research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of 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, UBS Group boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $102.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $126.07.

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.