Morgan Stanley Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:MS)

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) saw unusually large options trading activity on Monday. Stock traders acquired 27,299 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 48% compared to the average daily volume of 18,485 call options.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 1.7%

Shares of NYSE:MS opened at $217.75 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $343.45 billion, a PE ratio of 19.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.23. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $194.76 and its 200 day moving average price is $181.34. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $129.66 and a fifty-two week high of $220.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.02 by $0.41. The firm had revenue of $20.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.23 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 14.65% and a return on equity of 17.70%. Morgan Stanley’s quarterly revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.60 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 11.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 30th were given a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 30th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.23%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MS has been the subject of several research reports. Citizens Jmp reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday, April 16th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $196.00 to $214.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $179.00 to $187.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $210.00 to $218.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $170.00 to $194.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $206.35.

Key Stories Impacting Morgan Stanley

Here are the key news stories impacting Morgan Stanley this week:

• Positive Sentiment: CEO Ted Pick highlighted a potential $10 trillion opportunity in wealth management, signaling a much larger addressable market and supporting a bullish long-term outlook.
• Positive Sentiment: Recent options activity showed elevated call buying in Morgan Stanley, often a sign that investors are betting on further stock gains.
• Positive Sentiment: The firm’s most recent quarterly results were already strong, with earnings and revenue both beating expectations, which continues to support investor confidence.
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent headlines also show Morgan Stanley’s analysts actively moving on other names, including downgrading Accenture and raising targets on several stocks, but those reports are not direct catalysts for MS itself.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 51,668 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.59, for a total value of $9,744,068.12. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 282,142 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $53,209,159.78. The trade was a 15.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 11,118 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.75, for a total transaction of $2,120,758.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 169,403 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,313,622.25. The trade was a 6.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 77,476 shares of company stock valued at $14,644,762. Insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Morgan Stanley

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MS. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 40.1% in the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 29,744 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,281,000 after purchasing an additional 8,512 shares during the last quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 103.1% in the third quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 12,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,019,000 after purchasing an additional 6,448 shares during the last quarter. ABN Amro Investment Solutions lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 52.6% in the third quarter. ABN Amro Investment Solutions now owns 113,504 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $18,043,000 after purchasing an additional 39,104 shares during the last quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 679.8% in the fourth quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC now owns 42,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,527,000 after purchasing an additional 36,963 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 34.4% in the third quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH now owns 50,012 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,950,000 after purchasing an additional 12,804 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) is a global financial services firm headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1935 by Henry S. Morgan and Harold Stanley, the company provides a broad range of investment banking, securities, wealth management and investment management services to corporations, governments, institutions and individual investors. Leadership has been guided by a senior executive team and board of directors; James P. Gorman has served as the company’s chief executive and chairman in recent years.

The firm’s primary business activities are organized around three principal businesses: Institutional Securities, Wealth Management and Investment Management.