Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Boosts Holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 21.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 585,444 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 102,554 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $54,593,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Fairfield Bush & CO. purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the first quarter worth about $108,000. Baird Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 7.8% during the 1st quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 306,637 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,801,000 after purchasing an additional 22,095 shares during the period. Zions Bancorporation N.A. grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 61.9% during the 1st quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 6,957 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $608,000 after purchasing an additional 2,660 shares during the period. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 64.5% during the 1st quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 17,070 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,492,000 after purchasing an additional 6,696 shares during the period. Finally, Covestor Ltd grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 66.9% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 626 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 251 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 26,655 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.19, for a total value of $2,324,049.45. Following the sale, the insider now owns 286,835 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,009,143.65. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 10,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.13, for a total transaction of $841,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 323,490 shares in the company, valued at $27,215,213.70. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 26,655 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.19, for a total value of $2,324,049.45. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 286,835 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,009,143.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 208,155 shares of company stock worth $18,149,314 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MS has been the topic of a number of research reports. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $91.00 price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. TheStreet raised Morgan Stanley from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Barclays lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $102.00 to $116.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Cfra boosted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $95.66.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 2.5 %

Shares of MS opened at $89.13 on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $69.42 and a 12-month high of $95.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $144.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.43. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $88.65 and its 200 day moving average price is $84.78.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.72 by $0.30. The firm had revenue of $15.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.42 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 10.36% and a net margin of 9.49%. The business’s revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.70 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 6.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Company Profile

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.