StoneX Group Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

StoneX Group Inc. boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 30.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 26,688 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,170 shares during the period. StoneX Group Inc.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $2,782,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MS. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley in the third quarter worth about $26,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1,147.6% in the 2nd quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 262 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares during the period. Bank & Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Finally, Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the second quarter worth $29,000. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MS has been the subject of several recent research reports. Hsbc Global Res raised Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $106.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. HSBC upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $118.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, October 4th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $107.00 to $142.00 in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $102.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $112.94.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.17, for a total value of $7,150,200.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 138,363 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,488,718.71. This trade represents a 30.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MS opened at $134.69 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. The firm has a market cap of $216.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.34. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $116.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $105.23. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $76.33 and a fifty-two week high of $135.67.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.57 by $0.31. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 10.64% and a return on equity of 12.58%. The firm had revenue of $15.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.27 billion. On average, analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 7.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were paid a $0.925 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.75%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 56.32%.

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.