Focus Partners Wealth Purchases 99,291 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Focus Partners Wealth lifted its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 132.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 174,059 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 99,291 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $22,280,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. HBW Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 14.7% during the fourth quarter. HBW Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,470 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $311,000 after purchasing an additional 317 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 268,965 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $33,814,000 after acquiring an additional 15,192 shares in the last quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 14.1% in the fourth quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,993 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $502,000 after acquiring an additional 492 shares during the last quarter. Matrix Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth $2,040,000. Finally, Fiduciary Alliance LLC boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 97,023 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $12,198,000 after purchasing an additional 3,735 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of MS traded up $1.39 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $132.43. The stock had a trading volume of 7,209,236 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,697,704. The stock has a market capitalization of $212.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The company's fifty day moving average is $114.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $124.98. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $90.94 and a 52 week 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 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.39. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 14.39%. The firm had revenue of $17.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.81 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.02 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 17.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be given a $0.925 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.79%. Morgan Stanley's payout ratio is 43.43%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 10,068 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 199,274 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $22,248,942.10. This trade represents a 4.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 40,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total value of $4,800,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 335,765 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,291,800. This represents a 10.64% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 50,868 shares of company stock valued at $6,019,548. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. JMP Securities restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Monday, April 14th. Barclays boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $138.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Erste Group Bank downgraded Morgan Stanley from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $135.00 to $125.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research 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's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $132.46.

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.