Versor Investments LP Increases Stake in Morgan Stanley $MS

Versor Investments LP increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 355.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,393 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 8,893 shares during the period. Versor Investments LP’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $1,605,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 645.8% during the second quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 179 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 155 shares during the period. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 111.0% during the first quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 211 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the period. RMG Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the second quarter valued at $35,000. Abound Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 58.5% during the second quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 252 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 93 shares during the period. Finally, Dogwood Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 113.0% during the second quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 262 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 139 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MS opened at $164.17 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78. The company has a market cap of $262.08 billion, a PE ratio of 16.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.32. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $156.68 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $141.28. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $94.33 and a fifty-two week high of $167.13.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.07 by $0.73. The business had revenue of $18.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.42 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 16.55% and a net margin of 13.85%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.88 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 31st will be issued a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.03%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MS has been the topic of several research reports. Citigroup raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $122.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $171.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Zacks Research upgraded Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $168.23.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Morgan Stanley news, CEO Edward Pick sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.34, for a total value of $16,434,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 574,986 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $94,493,199.24. This trade represents a 14.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

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.