Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Shares Bought by Graypoint LLC

Graypoint LLC raised its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 6.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,057 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 424 shares during the quarter. Graypoint LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $887,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. HBW Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 14.7% during the fourth quarter. HBW Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,470 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $311,000 after purchasing an additional 317 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 28,075 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,530,000 after purchasing an additional 770 shares during the period. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 43.1% during the fourth quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 3,820 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $480,000 after purchasing an additional 1,150 shares during the period. Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,540 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $319,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares during the period. Finally, Worth Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth about $1,498,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock opened at $123.41 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $198.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.35. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $83.09 and a 52 week high of $136.24. 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 is $128.45 and its two-hundred day moving average is $112.42.

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

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were issued a $0.925 dividend. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.00%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is currently 56.32%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.17, for a total transaction 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 trade represents a 30.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $106.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $140.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Eleven research 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, Morgan Stanley has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $125.80.

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.