Rydar Equities Inc. Buys Shares of 19,357 Morgan Stanley $MS

Rydar Equities Inc. bought a new position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 19,357 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,727,000. Morgan Stanley comprises 2.2% of Rydar Equities Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest holding.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 111.0% in the 1st quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 211 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 645.8% during the 2nd quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 179 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. WFA of San Diego LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Compass Financial Services Inc bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Abound Wealth Management increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 58.5% in the 2nd quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 252 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MS has been the topic of several research reports. Barclays boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $156.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $156.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $122.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $173.38.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of NYSE MS opened at $178.57 on Monday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $164.70 and its 200-day moving average price is $151.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.79. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $94.33 and a 52-week high of $181.98. The company has a market capitalization of $283.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.22.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.07 by $0.73. The business had revenue of $17.98 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.42 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 13.85% and a return on equity of 16.40%. Morgan Stanley’s quarterly revenue was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.88 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 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 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 31st were given a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 31st. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.03%.

Insider Activity

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

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.