Florida Financial Advisors LLC Makes New $234,000 Investment in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Florida Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 1,861 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $234,000.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,711,805 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $491,159,000 after acquiring an additional 36,120 shares during the period. Eagle Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 31.7% during the third quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 21,442 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,235,000 after acquiring an additional 5,155 shares during the period. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 9.4% in the third quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 7,176 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $748,000 after acquiring an additional 619 shares in the last quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 18.3% in the third quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,616 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $690,000 after purchasing an additional 1,025 shares during the period. Finally, Summit Trail Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 12.4% during the third quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 10,237 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,067,000 after buying an additional 1,131 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of MS stock opened at $125.25 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $202.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.77, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.35. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $85.01 and a one year high of $142.03. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $130.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $123.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released 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 company had revenue of $16.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.13 EPS. Morgan Stanley’s quarterly revenue was up 25.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 dividend of $0.925 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.95%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 46.60%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on MS shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $135.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $146.00 to $153.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $132.33.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In other news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 197,444 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,891,872.80. This trade represents a 6.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.01, for a total transaction 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. The trade was 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.

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.