HighTower Advisors LLC Purchases 42,106 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 3.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,412,678 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 42,106 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC owned 0.09% of Morgan Stanley worth $174,466,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in MS. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 75.2% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,850,848 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $881,493,000 after acquiring an additional 3,369,520 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at about $324,118,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 382.4% in the third quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 1,597,800 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $166,555,000 after buying an additional 1,266,600 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 26,142.5% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,055,210 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $132,661,000 after buying an additional 1,051,189 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at about $89,761,000. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 0.4 %

MS opened at $112.18 on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $85.01 and a 1-year high of $142.03. The stock has a market cap of $180.93 billion, a PE ratio of 14.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.35. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $132.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $122.27. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued 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. The company had revenue of $16.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.03 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 14.39%. The company’s revenue was up 25.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.13 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st were given a $0.925 dividend. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is presently 46.60%.

Insider Activity

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised Morgan Stanley from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $107.00 to $142.00 in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Citigroup raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Hsbc Global Res lowered Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. UBS Group raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $131.27.

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.