Guardian Wealth Advisors LLC NC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 2,062 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $259,000.
Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Gotham Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 29,315 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,685,000 after acquiring an additional 730 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 132.8% during the fourth quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 174,059 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $22,280,000 after buying an additional 99,291 shares in the last quarter. Fullerton Fund Management Co Ltd. boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 5,707.9% during the fourth quarter. Fullerton Fund Management Co Ltd. now owns 442,733 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $55,660,000 after buying an additional 435,110 shares during the last quarter. Ellevest Inc. grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Ellevest Inc. now owns 4,724 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $594,000 after buying an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ensign Peak Advisors Inc increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 11.8% in the 4th quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 2,439,366 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $306,677,000 after acquiring an additional 257,901 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Insider Buying and Selling
In related news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 10,068 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.65, for a total transaction of $1,124,092.20. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 199,274 shares in the company, valued at $22,248,942.10. This trade represents a 4.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert H. Herz sold 800 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.32, for a total transaction of $95,456.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 96,760 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,545,403.20. The trade was a 0.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 50,868 shares of company stock valued at $6,019,548. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
A number of research firms recently commented on MS. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $120.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. JMP Securities reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Monday, April 14th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Erste Group Bank cut shares of Morgan Stanley from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $144.00 to $126.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $132.46.
Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on Morgan Stanley
Morgan Stanley Trading Up 1.1%
NYSE MS traded up $1.39 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $132.43. 7,209,236 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,697,704. The stock has a market capitalization of $212.46 billion, a PE ratio of 16.68, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.30. 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 1-year low of $90.94 and a 1-year high of $142.03. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $114.90 and its 200 day simple moving average is $124.98.
Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $2.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.39. The business had revenue of $17.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.81 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 17.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.02 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.925 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.79%. Morgan Stanley's payout ratio is currently 43.43%.
Morgan Stanley Profile
(
Free Report)
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.
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