Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Shares Purchased by Community Trust & Investment Co.

Community Trust & Investment Co. increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 2.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 33,138 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 714 shares during the period. Community Trust & Investment Co.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $4,166,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pines Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth $397,000. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 16,186 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,035,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares during the period. Tlwm lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Tlwm now owns 13,615 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,712,000 after acquiring an additional 584 shares during the last quarter. Cardinal Point Capital Management ULC boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Cardinal Point Capital Management ULC now owns 2,697 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $339,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the period. Finally, Wallace Advisory Group LLC boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 17.1% in the fourth quarter. Wallace Advisory Group LLC now owns 3,326 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $418,000 after acquiring an additional 485 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on MS shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $104.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $106.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $140.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $135.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised Morgan Stanley from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $107.00 to $142.00 in a report 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $126.07.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other news, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.17, for a total value of $7,150,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 138,363 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,488,718.71. This represents a 30.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

NYSE MS opened at $124.66 on Wednesday. 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 has a 1 year low of $83.09 and a 1 year high of $136.24. The company has a market cap of $200.83 billion, a PE ratio of 18.97, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.36. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $128.74 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $113.02.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.57 by $0.31. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 10.64% and a return on equity of 12.58%. The business had revenue of $15.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.27 billion. On average, analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 7.33 EPS for the current year.

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.