15,415,129 Shares in Morgan Stanley $MS Purchased by Norges Bank

Key Points

• Norges Bank disclosed a new fourth-quarter position in Morgan Stanley, buying 15.4 million shares valued at about $2.74 billion, or roughly 0.97% of the company.
• Morgan Stanley reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $3.43 and revenue of $20.58 billion, both above analyst expectations and up 16% year over year.
• Analysts remain mixed but generally constructive: the stock has a Moderate Buy consensus with a target price of about $205.95, while the shares recently traded near their 52-week high and the company also paid a $1.00 quarterly dividend.

Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 15,415,129 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,736,648,000. Norges Bank owned approximately 0.97% of Morgan Stanley as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Olistico Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 1,855.6% during the fourth quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC now owns 176 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 65.2% during the third quarter. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. now owns 185 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 11,118 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.75, for a total transaction of $2,120,758.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 169,403 shares of the company's stock, valued at $32,313,622.25. This represents a 6.16% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 14,690 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.24, for a total value of $2,779,935.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 365,802 shares of the company's stock, valued at $69,224,370.48. This represents a 3.86% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 77,476 shares of company stock valued at $14,644,762 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.17% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $207.00 target price on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $210.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Jefferies Financial Group cut Morgan Stanley from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, March 9th. Evercore boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Wolfe Research lowered their target price on Morgan Stanley from $221.00 to $197.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $205.95.

Key Morgan Stanley News

Here are the key news stories impacting Morgan Stanley this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley was highlighted in coverage of U.S. banks near record highs, with the firm benefiting from accelerating earnings and sales growth across the sector. Morgan Stanley Joins Elite List As Stock Hits Highs; Goldman Sachs Rides Massive Deals Wave
• Positive Sentiment: Recent analyst and valuation commentary has reinforced the bull case, with investors focusing on Morgan Stanley’s strong earnings revisions and upgraded outlook after a solid quarterly beat. A Look At Morgan Stanley (MS) Valuation As Analyst Upgrades And Earnings Revisions Lift Confidence
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks Research downgraded Morgan Stanley from “strong-buy” to “hold,” which may cap some upside, but the market appears to be looking past that call for now. Zacks.com

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 1.9%

MS opened at $207.74 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $183.78 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $177.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $327.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.82, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.77. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $126.35 and a one year high of $208.08.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.43 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.02 by $0.41. The business had revenue of $20.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.23 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 17.70% and a net margin of 14.65%.Morgan Stanley's quarterly revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.60 EPS. Analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 11.85 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 30th were given a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 30th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio is presently 36.23%.

Morgan Stanley Profile

Morgan Stanley NYSE: MS is a global financial services firm headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1935 by Henry S. Morgan and Harold Stanley, the company provides a broad range of investment banking, securities, wealth management and investment management services to corporations, governments, institutions and individual investors. Leadership has been guided by a senior executive team and board of directors; James P. Gorman has served as the company's chief executive and chairman in recent years.

The firm's primary business activities are organized around three principal businesses: Institutional Securities, Wealth Management and Investment Management.

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