Valeo Financial Advisors LLC Raises Stock Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Valeo Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 13.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 18,971 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,193 shares during the period. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $1,786,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of MS. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth approximately $958,105,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 17.2% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 38,451,051 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,585,561,000 after purchasing an additional 5,631,435 shares during the last quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth approximately $512,867,000. Capital International Investors grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 8.2% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 24,499,542 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,284,674,000 after purchasing an additional 1,865,645 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 20.3% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 7,094,388 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $659,251,000 after purchasing an additional 1,195,258 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Charles Aubrey Smith III sold 11,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.09, for a total value of $1,009,008.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 126,190 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,368,457.10. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.21, for a total transaction of $9,021,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 414,870 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $37,425,422.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Charles Aubrey Smith III sold 11,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.09, for a total transaction of $1,009,008.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 126,190 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,368,457.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 118,154 shares of company stock valued at $10,722,696. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on MS shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $102.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $101.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $98.48.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

MS opened at $100.12 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.97, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $96.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $91.92. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $69.42 and a 1 year high of $103.25. The stock has a market cap of $162.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.38.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.33. The firm had revenue of $15.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.42 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 9.57% and a return on equity of 10.88%. The business’s revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.70 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 6.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 30th were issued a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is presently 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.