9,367 Shares in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Bought by Moment Partners LLC

Moment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 9,367 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,178,000. Morgan Stanley comprises 0.2% of Moment Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 27th biggest holding.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Peoples Bank KS acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Curio Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 197,444 shares in the company, valued at $26,891,872.80. This trade represents a 6.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.01, for a total transaction of $2,380,175.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 81,440 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,076,654.40. This represents a 17.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on MS shares. Erste Group Bank cut shares of Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $146.00 to $153.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Citigroup cut their price target on Morgan Stanley from $135.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $124.00 to $129.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $132.33.

Morgan Stanley Trading Down 2.4 %

MS stock opened at $122.17 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $130.39 and its 200 day moving average is $123.50. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $85.01 and a 12-month high of $142.03. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14. The stock has a market cap of $197.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.39, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.35.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.68. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 14.39% and a net margin of 12.48%. The firm had revenue of $16.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.13 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side 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 was paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st were issued a $0.925 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.03%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 46.60%.

Morgan Stanley 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.