Omnia Family Wealth LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Omnia Family Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,063 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 97 shares during the period. Omnia Family Wealth LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $319,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital International Investors increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 16.3% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 28,481,070 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,681,778,000 after acquiring an additional 3,981,528 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 600.8% during the first quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 1,301,835 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $122,581,000 after purchasing an additional 1,116,058 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 1st quarter worth approximately $87,558,000. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 433.4% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 779,451 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $73,392,000 after buying an additional 633,319 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley during the second quarter valued at $43,850,000. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.17, for a total transaction of $7,150,200.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 138,363 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,488,718.71. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

NYSE:MS traded up $0.92 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $133.68. 1,852,528 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,067,399. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $111.14 and its 200-day moving average price is $103.26. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $76.33 and a one year high of $134.91. The firm has a market cap of $215.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.34.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released 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 company had revenue of $15.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.27 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 10.64% and a return on equity of 12.58%. Research analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 7.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.925 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.77%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is presently 56.32%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on MS shares. Citigroup raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Barclays upped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $108.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $109.24.

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.