Bolthouse Investments LLC Invests $476,000 in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Bolthouse Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 3,785 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $476,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in 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 buying an additional 36,120 shares during the last quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 7.1% in the third quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc now owns 4,424 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $461,000 after acquiring an additional 295 shares in the last quarter. Sculati Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Sculati Wealth Management LLC now owns 35,013 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,650,000 after purchasing an additional 655 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 45.0% during the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 15,063 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,570,000 after buying an additional 4,674 shares during the period. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 474.3% during the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 21,134 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,203,000 after purchasing an additional 17,454 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $144.00 to $126.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. JMP Securities reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Monday, April 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their target price on Morgan Stanley from $135.00 to $125.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 24th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $130.50.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock traded down $0.71 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $115.50. 6,497,813 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,769,186. The stock has a market cap of $186.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.55, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $116.02 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $124.71. 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 has a twelve month low of $90.73 and a twelve month high of $142.03.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $2.60 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.39. The business had revenue of $17.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.81 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 14.39% and a net margin of 12.48%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 17.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.02 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be paid a $0.925 dividend. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.20%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley's payout ratio is 43.43%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 10,068 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.65, for a total value of $1,124,092.20. Following the sale, the insider now owns 199,274 shares of the company's stock, valued at $22,248,942.10. This trade represents a 4.81 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.19% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.