Forum Financial Management LP Has $4 Million Stock Holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Forum Financial Management LP increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 63.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 34,255 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 13,238 shares during the quarter. Forum Financial Management LP’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $3,997,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,910,200,000. Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 44.8% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 21,794,873 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,740,051,000 after purchasing an additional 6,744,333 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 12,318.0% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,750,845 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $320,941,000 after purchasing an additional 2,728,693 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 11.9% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 25,561,560 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,213,599,000 after acquiring an additional 2,725,335 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 50.8% during the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 7,282,156 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $915,731,000 after acquiring an additional 2,453,470 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $127.00 to $160.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $138.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $130.00 price target (up previously from $125.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $144.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $136.69.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

MS opened at $139.69 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.11. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $133.48 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $127.01. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $90.94 and a 1-year high of $145.16. The company has a market cap of $224.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.40, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.30.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.98 by $0.15. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 12.98% and a return on equity of 14.98%. The firm had revenue of $16.79 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.15 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.82 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, July 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $20.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to reacquire up to 8.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total value of $4,800,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 335,765 shares in the company, valued at $40,291,800. This represents a 10.64% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert H. Herz sold 800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.32, for a total transaction of $95,456.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 96,760 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,545,403.20. The trade was a 0.82% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley 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.