Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Shares Bought by Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC

Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 0.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 22,599 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 113 shares during the quarter. Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $2,846,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 14.9% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 17,383 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,185,000 after purchasing an additional 2,249 shares during the period. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 18.8% during the 4th quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 17,563 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,208,000 after purchasing an additional 2,784 shares during the period. Clarendon Private LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth $892,000. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 152.3% in the 4th quarter. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. now owns 6,563 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $825,000 after acquiring an additional 3,962 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Precedent Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth $233,000. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on MS shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Morgan Stanley from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Morgan Stanley from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $107.00 to $142.00 in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Barclays raised their target price on Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Morgan Stanley from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on Morgan Stanley from $146.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $131.27.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 0.0 %

Shares of MS opened at $137.85 on Monday. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $83.09 and a 1 year high of $139.04. 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 50 day simple moving average of $129.48 and a 200-day simple moving average of $114.96. The stock has a market cap of $222.09 billion, a PE ratio of 17.36, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.36.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.68. The business had revenue of $16.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.03 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 14.39% and a net margin of 12.48%. Morgan Stanley’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.13 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be given a $0.925 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.68%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 46.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

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 stock was sold at an average price of $136.20, for a total value 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.01, for a total value 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 $11,076,654.40. This represents a 17.69 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

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.