Raymond James Trust N.A. Grows Holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Raymond James Trust N.A. grew its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 14.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 37,007 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,618 shares during the period. Raymond James Trust N.A.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $3,858,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. EP Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 12.6% in the first quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10,366 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $976,000 after buying an additional 1,158 shares in the last quarter. BOKF NA raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 81.6% during the first quarter. BOKF NA now owns 96,595 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,035,000 after acquiring an additional 43,417 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado lifted its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 141.0% during the first quarter. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC now owns 10,671 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,005,000 after purchasing an additional 6,244 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bornite Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the first quarter valued at about $23,540,000. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock opened at $134.69 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $116.16 and a 200 day moving average of $105.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $216.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.50, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.34. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $76.33 and a fifty-two week high of $135.67.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $15.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.27 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 12.58% and a net margin of 10.64%. As a group, research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 7.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.75%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is currently 56.32%.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.17, for a total transaction of $7,150,200.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 138,363 shares in the company, valued at $16,488,718.71. This represents a 30.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. UBS Group raised their target price on Morgan Stanley from $102.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Morgan Stanley from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $107.00 to $142.00 in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Jefferies Financial Group increased 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. Finally, HSBC raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $118.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $112.94.

Morgan Stanley 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.