Bfsg LLC Buys New Shares in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Bfsg LLC purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 600 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $56,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Boston Partners purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $477,765,000. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 21.2% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 23,474,452 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,917,159,000 after purchasing an additional 4,098,577 shares during the period. J.P. Morgan Private Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the third quarter worth $223,596,000. California Public Employees Retirement System increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 53.1% in the third quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 4,015,294 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $327,929,000 after purchasing an additional 1,393,065 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 229.0% during the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,215,753 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $113,369,000 after purchasing an additional 846,266 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

MS stock opened at $92.56 on Friday. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $69.42 and a 52 week high of $95.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $150.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $89.55 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $85.31. 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 quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.33. The firm had revenue of $15.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.42 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 9.57% and a return on equity of 10.87%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.70 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 6.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be issued a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.67%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.93%.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 26,655 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.19, for a total transaction of $2,324,049.45. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 286,835 shares in the company, valued at $25,009,143.65. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, insider Charles Aubrey Smith III sold 11,200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.09, for a total value of $1,009,008.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 126,190 shares in the company, valued at $11,368,457.10. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 26,655 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.19, for a total value of $2,324,049.45. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 286,835 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,009,143.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 252,355 shares of company stock worth $22,356,602. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on MS. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $87.00 target price (down previously from $94.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $98.07.

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.