Morgan Stanley $MS Stock Holdings Increased by Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 7.6% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 2,317,323 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 163,980 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $326,418,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC raised its position 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 worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the period. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 645.8% in the 2nd quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 179 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 50.0% during the 1st quarter. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. now owns 264 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 88 shares during the period. Abound Wealth Management lifted its stake in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, RMG Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the second quarter valued at about $35,000. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In related news, CEO Edward Pick sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

MS stock opened at $162.31 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $158.11 and a two-hundred day moving average of $142.98. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $94.33 and a 12 month high of $167.13. The company has a market capitalization of $257.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30.

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

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 31st will be issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 31st. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.03%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on MS shares. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Zacks Research raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $175.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on Morgan Stanley in a report on Friday, October 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $180.00 target price for the company. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $168.23.

Morgan Stanley 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.