Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. Acquires 718,243 Shares of Morgan Stanley $MS

Key Points

• Eurizon Capital SGR bought 718,243 Morgan Stanley shares in the third quarter, valued at approximately $135.9 million.
• Morgan Stanley reported quarterly EPS of $3.03, topping the $2.93 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 11.6% year over year to $20.34 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.15 per share, equivalent to an annualized yield of about 2.4%.

Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 718,243 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $135,899,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MS. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter worth $78,825,883,310. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the second quarter valued at about $2,040,227,000. Cullen Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the second quarter valued at about $295,482,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the first quarter valued at about $110,938,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 89.7% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 1,410,293 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $232,092,000 after acquiring an additional 666,754 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of MS stock opened at $189.36 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $295.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.13, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.23. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $152.80 and a 52 week high of $232.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.58. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $193.28 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $194.44.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 14th. The financial services provider reported $3.03 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.93 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $20.34 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.93 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 15.63% and a return on equity of 19.26%. The business's revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.80 EPS. Analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 12.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Investors of record on Friday, October 30th will be given a $1.15 dividend. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley's payout ratio is currently 36.51%.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In related news, Director Judith Miscik sold 2,480 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.21, for a total value of $454,360.80. Following the sale, the director directly owned 64,215 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,764,830.15. The trade was a 3.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company's stock.

Morgan Stanley News Summary

Investors following MS have been watching these news items:

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley agreed to acquire Vinyl Equity, a digital transfer agent that provides share transfers, shareholder recordkeeping and cap-table services. Bringing these capabilities in-house could deepen the firm’s services to corporate clients and strengthen links to its workplace and wealth-management businesses. Why Is Morgan Stanley Bringing Transfer Agency In House?
• Neutral Sentiment: Investors are weighing Morgan Stanley’s recent digital initiatives, including transfer agency and tokenization, against whether its returns on capital justify its strong multiyear share-price gains. The coverage raises a valuation question but does not report a new change to earnings or guidance. Can Morgan Stanley Justify Its Price After New Digital Moves?
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley director Judith Miscik sold 2,480 shares for about $454,000, reducing her stake by 3.72%. The sale is a modest potential sentiment headwind given her substantial remaining holding. Morgan Stanley Director Sells Shares

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Tuesday, November 3rd. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $215.00 to $210.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $230.00 price target (down from $250.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Zacks Research downgraded Morgan Stanley from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 30th. Finally, HSBC increased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $215.00 to $219.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, September 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $214.81.

About Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley is a global financial services company that provides investment banking, securities, wealth management and investment management services to corporations, governments, institutions and individuals. Its Institutional Securities business offers services such as financial advisory, capital raising, sales and trading, and research. The company also provides financial planning, brokerage and banking services through its Wealth Management business, while its Investment Management business offers investment strategies and portfolio management to a range of clients.

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