Calamos Wealth Management LLC Raises Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Calamos Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 1,214.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 136,655 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 126,255 shares during the period. Calamos Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $12,743,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MS. CGC Financial Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 5,200.0% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. RVW Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the third quarter worth $27,000. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc boosted its stake 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 lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 810.8% during the third quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 337 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. Finally, Coppell Advisory Solutions Corp. bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Charles Aubrey Smith III sold 11,200 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.09, for a total transaction of $1,009,008.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 126,190 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,368,457.10. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Charles Aubrey Smith III sold 11,200 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.09, for a total transaction of $1,009,008.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 126,190 shares in the company, valued at $11,368,457.10. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.21, for a total value of $9,021,000.00. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 414,870 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $37,425,422.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 302,355 shares of company stock worth $26,753,102. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 0.4 %

NYSE:MS traded up $0.40 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $90.66. 8,143,003 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,380,509. The business's 50-day moving average price is $88.92 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $84.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $147.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.43. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $69.42 and a 1 year high of $95.57. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.33. The company had revenue of $15.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.42 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 10.87% and a net margin of 9.57%. Morgan Stanley's revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.70 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 6.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on MS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $87.00 price target (down from $94.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday. JMP Securities reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $97.90.

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.