HTLF Bank Takes $2.39 Million Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

HTLF Bank acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 25,605 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,388,000.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. CGC Financial Services LLC grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 5,200.0% during the 4th quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 265 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. RVW Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the third quarter worth $27,000. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 77.3% during the third quarter. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc now owns 328 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 810.8% during the third quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 337 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Coppell Advisory Solutions Corp. acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 0.4 %

MS stock traded up $0.40 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $90.66. 8,134,663 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,904,789. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $88.92 and a 200-day simple moving average of $84.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $69.42 and a 12-month high of $95.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $147.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.51, a PEG ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.43.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.33. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 9.57% and a return on equity of 10.87%. The business had revenue of $15.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.42 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.70 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 6.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be paid a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.75%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley's payout ratio is 61.93%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.92, for a total value of $879,200.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 313,490 shares of the company's stock, valued at $27,562,040.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.92, for a total value of $879,200.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 313,490 shares of the company's stock, valued at $27,562,040.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 50,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.93, for a total transaction of $4,396,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 400,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,172,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 302,355 shares of company stock valued at $26,753,102. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on MS. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $102.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Cfra increased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, HSBC increased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $97.90.

Morgan Stanley Company 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.