Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. Acquires 5,467 Shares of Morgan Stanley $MS

Key Points

• Nomura Asset Management increased its Morgan Stanley stake by 1.1% in the fourth quarter, buying 5,467 shares and bringing its total holdings to 509,902 shares valued at about $90.5 million.
• Morgan Stanley reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $3.43 beating estimates and revenue rising 16% year over year to $20.58 billion.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed but constructive: the stock has a Moderate Buy consensus with an average target price of $205.95, while several firms recently raised price targets despite some neutral ratings.

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 1.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 509,902 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 5,467 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $90,523,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 40.1% during the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 29,744 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $5,281,000 after purchasing an additional 8,512 shares during the period. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 103.1% during the third quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 12,700 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,019,000 after purchasing an additional 6,448 shares during the period. Donaldson Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.0% during the third quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC now owns 467,246 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $74,273,000 after purchasing an additional 9,056 shares during the period. ABN Amro Investment Solutions boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 52.6% during the third quarter. ABN Amro Investment Solutions now owns 113,504 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $18,043,000 after purchasing an additional 39,104 shares during the period. Finally, A4 Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the third quarter valued at $855,000. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on MS shares. Rothschild & Co Redburn upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $171.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Daiwa Securities Group upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $175.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $170.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $205.95.

Key Headlines Impacting Morgan Stanley

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 11,118 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.75, for a total transaction of $2,120,758.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 169,403 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $32,313,622.25. This represents a 6.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 51,668 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.59, for a total transaction of $9,744,068.12. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 282,142 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $53,209,159.78. The trade was a 15.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 77,476 shares of company stock valued at $14,644,762. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 1.9%

NYSE:MS opened at $207.74 on Friday. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $126.35 and a 1-year high of $208.08. The company has a 50-day moving average of $183.78 and a 200 day moving average of $177.39. The firm has a market cap of $327.67 billion, a PE ratio of 18.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 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 (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 the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 14.65% and a return on equity of 17.70%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.60 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 11.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company 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. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio is presently 36.23%.

Morgan Stanley Company 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MS? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.