Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC Buys Shares of 206,066 Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 206,066 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $20,028,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MS. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of 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 worth $3,585,561,000 after buying an additional 5,631,435 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 16.3% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 28,481,070 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,681,778,000 after purchasing an additional 3,981,528 shares in the last quarter. Focused Investors Fund L P acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 1st quarter worth approximately $159,714,000. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 600.8% in the 1st quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 1,301,835 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $122,581,000 after purchasing an additional 1,116,058 shares in the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 12.1% in the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 9,061,378 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $844,973,000 after purchasing an additional 979,250 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MS opened at $104.12 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $169.21 billion, a PE ratio of 18.97, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.37. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $100.07 and a 200 day moving average of $97.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.96, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $69.42 and a one year high of $109.11.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $15.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.32 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 11.85%. The firm’s revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.24 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 7.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 31st were issued a $0.925 dividend. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.55%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 31st. This is a positive change from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is presently 67.40%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on MS. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $91.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of Morgan Stanley from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $99.00 to $95.00 in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $101.73.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.54, for a total transaction of $4,261,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 442,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $47,146,293.88. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 200,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.06, for a total transaction of $21,012,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 150,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,759,000. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.54, for a total transaction of $4,261,600.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 442,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,146,293.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 252,000 shares of company stock valued at $26,546,370. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.