NewSquare Capital LLC Increases Stake in Morgan Stanley $MS

NewSquare Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 119.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 958 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 521 shares during the quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $135,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 6.9% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 117,769,345 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $13,740,149,000 after buying an additional 7,636,547 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 21.2% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 17,056,916 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,990,030,000 after buying an additional 2,989,122 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 13,807,153 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,610,881,000 after buying an additional 403,956 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 13,063,819 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,523,337,000 after buying an additional 219,729 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 4.8% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 9,652,910 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,126,205,000 after buying an additional 442,617 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Edward Pick sold 100,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 574,986 shares in the company, valued at approximately $94,493,199.24. This trade represents a 14.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on Morgan Stanley in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $180.00 price target on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $175.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $168.23.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock opened at $163.98 on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $94.33 and a one year high of $167.13. The company has a market cap of $261.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.82, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $157.29 and its 200 day moving average price is $142.28.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.07 by $0.73. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 16.55% and a net margin of 13.85%.The firm had revenue of $18.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.42 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.88 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

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

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.