National Pension Service Has $365.21 Million Stake in Morgan Stanley $MS

National Pension Service boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 8.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,592,686 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 192,702 shares during the period. National Pension Service’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $365,206,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 6.9% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 117,769,345 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $13,740,149,000 after acquiring an additional 7,636,547 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 21.2% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 17,056,916 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,990,030,000 after purchasing an additional 2,989,122 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 13,807,153 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,610,881,000 after purchasing an additional 403,956 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 13,063,819 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,523,337,000 after purchasing an additional 219,729 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 4.8% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 9,652,910 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,126,205,000 after buying an additional 442,617 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

NYSE:MS opened at $166.41 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $158.75 and a 200 day simple moving average of $144.13. The stock has a market cap of $264.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.07, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.33. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $94.33 and a 1-year high of $167.13. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.07 by $0.73. The firm had revenue of $18.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.42 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 16.55% and a net margin of 13.85%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.88 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 31st will be issued a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 31st. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is currently 41.03%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on MS shares. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $156.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Zacks Research upgraded Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $165.00 to $177.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $168.23.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, CEO Edward Pick sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.34, for a total transaction of $16,434,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 574,986 shares in the company, valued at $94,493,199.24. This represents a 14.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.19% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.