Ninety One SA PTY Ltd Buys Shares of 102,023 Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Ninety One SA PTY Ltd purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 102,023 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $9,514,000. Morgan Stanley comprises about 1.4% of Ninety One SA PTY Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest holding.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 18,896 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,543,000 after purchasing an additional 580 shares in the last quarter. Calamos Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Calamos Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $849,000 after purchasing an additional 290 shares in the last quarter. Dakota Wealth Management increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 16.2% during the 3rd quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 12,803 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,046,000 after purchasing an additional 1,785 shares in the last quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 17.9% during the 4th quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 917 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $86,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CBOE Vest Financial LLC increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 75.4% during the 3rd quarter. CBOE Vest Financial LLC now owns 104,017 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,495,000 after purchasing an additional 44,725 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In related news, CFO Raja Akram sold 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.41, for a total transaction of $393,345.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 93,134 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,140,842.94. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.13, for a total transaction of $841,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 323,490 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,215,213.70. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Raja Akram sold 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.41, for a total value of $393,345.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 93,134 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,140,842.94. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 201,155 shares of company stock valued at $17,564,394. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on the company. Bank of America lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Cfra lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $101.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Barclays lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $102.00 to $116.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Finally, HSBC lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $97.79.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of MS traded up $0.37 during trading on Thursday, reaching $90.45. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,656,516 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,871,707. The company has a fifty day moving average of $88.73 and a two-hundred day moving average of $84.81. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $69.42 and a twelve month high of $95.57. The company has a market cap of $147.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.33. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 10.87% and a net margin of 9.57%. The company had revenue of $15.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.42 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.70 EPS. Morgan Stanley’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 6.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be given a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 61.93%.

Morgan Stanley Company Profile

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.