Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Shares Purchased by OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp

OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 18.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 77,441 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 12,088 shares during the period. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $9,736,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MS. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth about $1,910,200,000. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 44.8% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 21,794,873 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,740,051,000 after buying an additional 6,744,333 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 11.9% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 25,561,560 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,213,599,000 after buying an additional 2,725,335 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth about $324,118,000. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 50.8% in the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 7,282,156 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $915,731,000 after buying an additional 2,453,470 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MS has been the topic of a number of research reports. UBS Group raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Erste Group Bank downgraded Morgan Stanley from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Citigroup cut their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $135.00 to $125.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $138.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $132.46.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

MS stock opened at $126.93 on Tuesday. 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 52-week low of $90.94 and a 52-week high of $142.03. The stock's 50 day moving average is $114.45 and its two-hundred day moving average is $124.91. The company has a market capitalization of $203.63 billion, a PE ratio of 15.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.30.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $2.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.39. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 14.39% and a net margin of 12.48%. The company had revenue of $17.74 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.81 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.02 EPS. Morgan Stanley's revenue for the quarter was up 17.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.925 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.92%. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio is presently 43.43%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 10,068 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.65, for a total value of $1,124,092.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 199,274 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,248,942.10. This trade represents a 4.81% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 40,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total value of $4,800,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 335,765 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $40,291,800. The trade was a 10.64% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 50,868 shares of company stock worth $6,019,548 in the last three months. 0.19% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.

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