Morgan Stanley Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:MS)

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) saw unusually large options trading activity on Monday. Investors purchased 27,299 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 48% compared to the typical volume of 18,485 call options.

Key Stories Impacting Morgan Stanley

Here are the key news stories impacting Morgan Stanley this week:

• Positive Sentiment: CEO Ted Pick said Morgan Stanley’s wealth division alone could potentially reach a $10 trillion asset target, supporting the case for stronger long-term fee growth and earnings power.
• Positive Sentiment: Unusually large call-option trading in Morgan Stanley suggests traders are positioning for further upside in the shares.
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley continues to be active on the research front, with recent calls on names like Accenture, Cognizant, and Jefferies showing the firm is still shaping market expectations across financials and technology.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 11,118 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 169,403 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,313,622.25. This represents a 6.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 14,690 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.24, for a total transaction of $2,779,935.60. Following the transaction, the insider owned 365,802 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $69,224,370.48. This trade represents a 3.86% 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 worth $14,644,762. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Morgan Stanley

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MS. Purpose Unlimited Inc. bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Motiv8 Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Olistico Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, WFA of San Diego LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley in the second quarter worth approximately $28,000. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 2.3%

MS traded up $5.03 during trading on Monday, reaching $219.07. 2,947,300 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,700,252. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $345.53 billion, a PE ratio of 19.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.23. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $193.73 and its 200 day moving average is $180.97. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $129.66 and a 12 month high of $220.60.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.43 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.02 by $0.41. The business had revenue of $20.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.23 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 14.65% and a return on equity of 17.70%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.60 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 11.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 30th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is 36.23%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MS. Dbs Bank increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $185.00 to $220.00 in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Barclays increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $219.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $179.00 to $187.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Wolfe Research decreased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $221.00 to $197.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $206.35.

About Morgan Stanley

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.