Investors Buy High Volume of Call Options on Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) saw some unusual options trading activity on Thursday. Stock traders purchased 37,411 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 39% compared to the average volume of 26,873 call options.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 4.0 %

MS stock opened at $135.80 on Friday. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $83.09 and a 12 month high of $136.24. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $128.74 and its 200 day moving average is $113.15. The company has a market capitalization of $218.77 billion, a PE ratio of 20.67, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.57 by $0.31. The business had revenue of $15.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.27 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 10.64% and a return on equity of 12.58%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 7.39 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be given a dividend of $0.925 per share. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.72%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.32%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Morgan Stanley

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Charles Schwab Trust Co lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Trust Co now owns 7,723 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $971,000 after acquiring an additional 472 shares during the period. Lmcg Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 143.0% in the 4th quarter. Lmcg Investments LLC now owns 80,790 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,157,000 after purchasing an additional 47,544 shares during the period. Aspiriant LLC boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 6.2% during the fourth quarter. Aspiriant LLC now owns 2,961 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $372,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. ARS Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $214,000. Finally, Ballentine Partners LLC raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 52,849 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,644,000 after buying an additional 2,094 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on MS shares. HSBC downgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $128.00 to $131.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $108.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $106.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $135.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $126.07.

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.