Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Shares Purchased by Strategic Advisors LLC

Strategic Advisors LLC raised its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 10.3% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 18,074 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,690 shares during the quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $2,272,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Peoples Bank KS purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 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 valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the period. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $43,000. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 1.7 %

MS stock opened at $139.19 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $84.41 and a twelve month high of $142.03. The company’s 50 day moving average is $131.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is $118.56. The stock has a market cap of $224.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.53, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.37.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced 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 business had revenue of $16.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.03 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 14.39%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 25.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.13 EPS. Research analysts expect 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st were issued a $0.925 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.66%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 46.60%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MS has been the subject of several recent research reports. Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. 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 note on Friday, January 17th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target 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. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Finally, HSBC downgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $128.00 to $131.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $131.27.

Insider Activity

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

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.