Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Shares Acquired by Schear Investment Advisers LLC

Schear Investment Advisers LLC boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 9.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,791 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 887 shares during the period. Schear Investment Advisers LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $1,125,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Capital International Investors raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 16.3% during the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 28,481,070 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,681,778,000 after buying an additional 3,981,528 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 600.8% during the first quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 1,301,835 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $122,581,000 after purchasing an additional 1,116,058 shares during the period. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the first quarter worth $87,558,000. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 433.4% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 779,451 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $73,392,000 after purchasing an additional 633,319 shares during the period. Finally, Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter valued at $43,850,000. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MS opened at $134.06 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $215.98 billion, a PE ratio of 20.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.34. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $76.33 and a 1-year high of $134.91. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $112.55 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $103.84.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.88 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $15.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.27 billion. On average, research analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 7.32 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were given a dividend of $0.925 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.76%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is presently 56.32%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on MS shares. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Barclays upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. HSBC raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $118.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $102.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $111.29.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 138,363 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,488,718.71. This represents a 30.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 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.