Valeo Financial Advisors LLC Grows Holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Valeo Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 13.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 18,971 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,193 shares during the period. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $1,786,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 17.2% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 38,451,051 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,585,561,000 after purchasing an additional 5,631,435 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 8.2% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 24,499,542 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,284,674,000 after purchasing an additional 1,865,645 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 20,250,725 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,888,380,000 after purchasing an additional 517,446 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 20,197,232 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,883,392,000 after purchasing an additional 575,114 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at about $958,105,000. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of MS opened at $100.12 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $162.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.97, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.77. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $69.42 and a one year high of $103.25. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $96.87 and its 200-day moving average is $91.92.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.33. The firm had revenue of $15.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.42 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 10.88% and a net margin of 9.57%. Morgan Stanley’s revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.70 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 6.82 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 30th were issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.40%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is currently 61.93%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Mandell Crawley sold 6,954 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.61, for a total transaction of $692,687.94. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 46,274 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,609,353.14. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.21, for a total value of $9,021,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 414,870 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,425,422.70. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Mandell Crawley sold 6,954 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.61, for a total value of $692,687.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 46,274 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,609,353.14. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 118,154 shares of company stock valued at $10,722,696 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on MS. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $91.00 price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. HSBC increased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $98.48.

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.