Zacks Investment Management Boosts Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Zacks Investment Management lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 47.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,662 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 3,089 shares during the period. Zacks Investment Management's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $1,215,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 110,132,798 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $13,845,895,000 after acquiring an additional 696,646 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 25,844,753 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,240,089,000 after acquiring an additional 604,024 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 11.9% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 25,561,560 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,213,599,000 after acquiring an additional 2,725,335 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 22,833,937 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,870,683,000 after acquiring an additional 428,956 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth about $1,910,200,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Monday, April 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on Morgan Stanley from $144.00 to $126.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $120.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $144.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $130.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 10,068 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.65, for a total transaction of $1,124,092.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 199,274 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,248,942.10. This trade represents a 4.81 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 2.6 %

NYSE MS traded up $2.88 during trading on Thursday, reaching $115.19. 2,624,337 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,853,722. The stock has a market cap of $185.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.51, a price-to-earnings-growth 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. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $117.84 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $124.39. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $90.55 and a 1 year high of $142.03.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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 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 in the previous year, the company posted $2.02 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be issued a $0.925 dividend. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.21%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley's payout ratio is 43.43%.

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.