Traders Purchase Large Volume of Morgan Stanley Put Options (NYSE:MS)

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Friday. Stock traders bought 35,410 put options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 35% compared to the typical daily volume of 26,181 put options.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other news, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.01, for a total value of $2,380,175.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 81,440 shares in the company, valued at $11,076,654.40. This represents a 17.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.20, for a total value of $1,783,811.40. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 197,444 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,891,872.80. The trade was a 6.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Peoples Bank KS acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Curio Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Ancora Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 104.7% in the 4th quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 264 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company's stock.

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Morgan Stanley Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock traded up $0.99 on Monday, hitting $116.32. 3,637,580 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,517,907. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $85.01 and a 12-month high of $142.03. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14. The company has a market cap of $187.60 billion, a PE ratio of 14.64, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $129.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $123.97.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.68. The firm had revenue of $16.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.03 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 14.39% and a net margin of 12.48%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 25.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.13 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st were paid a $0.925 dividend. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.18%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.60%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on MS. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $146.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $124.00 to $129.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $131.53.

About Morgan Stanley

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.