Nicolet Advisory Services LLC Acquires 355 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Nicolet Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,594 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 355 shares during the quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $794,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 1st quarter worth approximately $87,558,000. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter valued at $43,850,000. Rokos Capital Management LLP acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 1st quarter valued at $41,208,000. Raymond James & Associates lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 19.8% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 2,077,282 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $216,536,000 after acquiring an additional 343,234 shares during the period. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 16,858.9% during the 2nd quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management now owns 339,348 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,773,000 after acquiring an additional 337,347 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $134.69 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $116.16 and its 200 day simple moving average is $105.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14. The stock has a market cap of $216.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.34. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $76.33 and a 12-month high of $135.67.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $15.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.27 billion. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 7.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders 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 yield of 2.75%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is presently 56.32%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on MS. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $107.00 to $142.00 in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $106.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $108.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $112.94.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Morgan Stanley news, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 17th. The stock was 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 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 the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.24% 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.