Morgan Stanley $MS Stock Holdings Boosted by WINTON GROUP Ltd

WINTON GROUP Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 17.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 35,750 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 5,281 shares during the period. WINTON GROUP Ltd’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $5,036,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 111.0% during the 1st quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 211 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the period. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 645.8% in the 2nd quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 179 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter valued at $32,000. Abound Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 58.5% during the 2nd quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 252 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Finally, RMG Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the second quarter worth $35,000. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In related 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 value of $16,434,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 574,986 shares in the company, valued at $94,493,199.24. This trade represents a 14.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

MS opened at $176.64 on Monday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $162.61 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $149.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $280.74 billion, a PE ratio of 18.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.22. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $94.33 and a 52 week high of $177.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.79.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.07 by $0.73. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 16.40% and a net margin of 13.85%.The business had revenue of $17.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.42 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.88 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 31st were given a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is presently 41.03%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $175.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Zacks Research upgraded Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Wolfe Research raised Morgan Stanley from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $198.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, November 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $173.38.

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.