Central Asset Investments & Management Holdings HK Ltd Grows Holdings in Morgan Stanley $MS

Central Asset Investments & Management Holdings HK Ltd increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 92.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,230 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,509 shares during the quarter. Morgan Stanley comprises about 0.5% of Central Asset Investments & Management Holdings HK Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Central Asset Investments & Management Holdings HK Ltd’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $737,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Meadow Creek Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.5% during the second quarter. Meadow Creek Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,799 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $394,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Gallagher Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Gallagher Capital Advisors LLC now owns 9,969 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,420,000 after buying an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 2.5% during the second quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp now owns 3,007 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $430,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 1.5% in the second quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 5,022 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $707,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Congress Park Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.4% during the second quarter. Congress Park Capital LLC now owns 3,250 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $458,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock opened at $166.41 on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $94.33 and a twelve month high of $167.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30. The company’s 50 day moving average is $158.75 and its 200 day moving average is $144.13. The company has a market cap of $264.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.33.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.07 by $0.73. The business had revenue of $18.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.42 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 13.85% and a return on equity of 16.55%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.88 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 31st will be given a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.03%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on MS shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $165.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $156.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $171.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $122.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $168.23.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, CEO Edward Pick sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.34, for a total transaction of $16,434,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 574,986 shares in the company, valued at $94,493,199.24. The trade was a 14.82% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

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.