Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. Makes New $135.90 Million Investment in Morgan Stanley $MS

Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund purchased 718,243 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $135,899,000.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MS. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter valued at about $78,825,883,310. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 16,326,676 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,686,881,000 after acquiring an additional 87,533 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 11,206,144 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,342,532,000 after acquiring an additional 188,296 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley in the second quarter worth about $2,040,227,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 0.9% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,235,756 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,190,585,000 after acquiring an additional 65,739 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $189.36 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $193.28 and a 200-day moving average price of $194.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $295.98 billion, a PE ratio of 15.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.58. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $152.80 and a 12-month high of $232.25.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 14th. The financial services provider reported $3.03 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.93 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $20.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.93 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 15.63% and a return on equity of 19.26%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.80 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 12.83 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 30th will be paid a $1.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 30th. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.51%.

More Morgan Stanley News

Investors following MS have been watching these news items:

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley agreed to acquire Vinyl Equity, a digital transfer agent that provides share transfers, shareholder recordkeeping and cap-table services. Bringing these capabilities in-house could deepen the firm’s services to corporate clients and strengthen links to its workplace and wealth-management businesses. Why Is Morgan Stanley Bringing Transfer Agency In House?
• Neutral Sentiment: Investors are weighing Morgan Stanley’s recent digital initiatives, including transfer agency and tokenization, against whether its returns on capital justify its strong multiyear share-price gains. The coverage raises a valuation question but does not report a new change to earnings or guidance. Can Morgan Stanley Justify Its Price After New Digital Moves?
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley director Judith Miscik sold 2,480 shares for about $454,000, reducing her stake by 3.72%. The sale is a modest potential sentiment headwind given her substantial remaining holding. Morgan Stanley Director Sells Shares

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, Director Judith Miscik sold 2,480 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.21, for a total value of $454,360.80. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 64,215 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,764,830.15. This trade represents a 3.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. HSBC boosted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $215.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 28th. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $210.00 to $205.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $210.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $230.00 target price (down from $250.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Tuesday, November 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $214.81.

About Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley is a global financial services company that provides investment banking, securities, wealth management and investment management services to corporations, governments, institutions and individuals. Its Institutional Securities business offers services such as financial advisory, capital raising, sales and trading, and research. The company also provides financial planning, brokerage and banking services through its Wealth Management business, while its Investment Management business offers investment strategies and portfolio management to a range of clients.