Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp Boosts Holdings in Morgan Stanley $MS

Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 81.8% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 5,360 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,412 shares during the period. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $755,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 6.9% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 117,769,345 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $13,740,149,000 after buying an additional 7,636,547 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 21.2% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 17,056,916 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,990,030,000 after acquiring an additional 2,989,122 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in 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 valued at $1,610,881,000 after acquiring an additional 403,956 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in 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 acquiring an additional 219,729 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 4.8% in 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 purchasing an additional 442,617 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Edward Pick sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.34, for a total transaction of $16,434,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 574,986 shares in the company, valued at $94,493,199.24. This trade represents a 14.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Morgan Stanley Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of MS stock opened at $162.31 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $94.33 and a 12-month high of $167.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $257.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.33. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $158.11 and its 200 day moving average is $143.21.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $18.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.42 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 16.55% and a net margin of 13.85%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.88 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.03%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on MS shares. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $156.00 to $183.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $156.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $165.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $168.23.

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.