Boston Financial Mangement LLC Boosts Holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Boston Financial Mangement LLC lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 67.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 8,203 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,315 shares during the quarter. Boston Financial Mangement LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $1,031,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. First Bank & Trust lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 410.9% in the 4th quarter. First Bank & Trust now owns 12,589 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,583,000 after purchasing an additional 10,125 shares during the period. Advyzon Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth about $528,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 10.1% in the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 484,479 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $60,909,000 after acquiring an additional 44,456 shares in the last quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 42.7% in the 4th quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC now owns 2,750 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $346,000 after acquiring an additional 823 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alberta Investment Management Corp bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth about $2,829,000. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MS opened at $134.36 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $132.28 and its 200-day moving average price is $119.50. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $84.43 and a 52-week high of $142.03. The company has a market cap of $216.46 billion, a PE ratio of 16.92, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.37.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.68. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 14.39%. The firm had revenue of $16.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.03 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.13 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 25.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st were issued a dividend of $0.925 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.75%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 46.60%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $146.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $107.00 to $142.00 in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $131.27.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.01, for a total transaction of $2,380,175.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 81,440 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,076,654.40. The trade was a 17.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.20, for a total transaction of $1,783,811.40. Following the sale, the insider now owns 197,444 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,891,872.80. This trade represents a 6.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.