Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA Increases Stock Holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 2.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 34,550 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 800 shares during the quarter. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $4,031,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 33.7% during the 1st quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA now owns 45,281 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,963,000 after purchasing an additional 11,421 shares in the last quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.6% during the first quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH now owns 300,302 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $35,036,000 after acquiring an additional 10,523 shares in the last quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.3% during the first quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. now owns 348,987 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $40,716,000 after acquiring an additional 963 shares in the last quarter. Davis Investment Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 23.7% during the first quarter. Davis Investment Partners LLC now owns 2,040 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $223,000 after acquiring an additional 391 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Net Worth Advisory Group lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 19.1% in the first quarter. Net Worth Advisory Group now owns 9,759 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,139,000 after acquiring an additional 1,568 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of MS opened at $131.78 on Thursday. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $90.94 and a 12 month high of $142.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $120.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $125.25. The company has a market cap of $211.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.60, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.29.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $2.60 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.39. The business had revenue of $17.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.81 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 14.39%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 17.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.02 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th were issued a dividend of $0.925 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.81%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.43%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MS has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Citigroup reduced their target price on Morgan Stanley from $135.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $120.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Bank of America decreased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $144.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $133.23.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, Director Robert H. Herz sold 800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.32, for a total transaction of $95,456.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 96,760 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,545,403.20. This trade represents a 0.82% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total transaction of $4,800,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 335,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $40,291,800. This represents a 10.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 50,868 shares of company stock worth $6,019,548. Company 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.