NewEdge Wealth LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

NewEdge Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 22.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,947 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,343 shares during the period. NewEdge Wealth LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $2,256,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.1% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 25,240,729 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,621,140,000 after buying an additional 269,633 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.7% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 22,404,981 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,335,495,000 after buying an additional 590,872 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 4.8% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 8,454,177 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $881,263,000 after buying an additional 385,780 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 75.2% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,850,848 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $881,493,000 after buying an additional 3,369,520 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.8% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,711,805 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $491,159,000 after buying an additional 36,120 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 3.0 %

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $133.11 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $132.99 and its two-hundred day moving average is $121.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $84.43 and a 1-year high of $142.03. The stock has a market cap of $214.45 billion, a PE ratio of 16.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.37.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its 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 return on equity of 14.39% and a net margin of 12.48%. The business had revenue of $16.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.13 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 25.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st were given a dividend of $0.925 per share. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.60%.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Hsbc Global Res lowered Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Bank of America lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $146.00 to $153.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $104.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $131.27.

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.