Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH Raises Stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH lifted its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 6,665.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 289,779 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 285,496 shares during the period. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $36,431,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Peoples Bank KS purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the third quarter worth about $26,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 138.1% in the third quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares during the period. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the third quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Planning Capital Management Corp raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 115.1% during the 3rd quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 357 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $108.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $131.27.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 0.3 %

NYSE MS opened at $137.42 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $83.09 and a 52 week high of $138.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $221.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.31, a PEG ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a fifty day moving average of $129.13 and a two-hundred day moving average of $114.03.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.68. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 14.39%. The firm had revenue of $16.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.03 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.13 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.925 per share. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.69%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is currently 46.60%.

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.