Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Shares Bought by BSW Wealth Partners

BSW Wealth Partners increased its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 20.1% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 6,591 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,103 shares during the quarter. BSW Wealth Partners’ holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $829,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 75.2% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,850,848 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $881,493,000 after acquiring an additional 3,369,520 shares in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 1,266,600 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $89,761,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 2.7% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 22,404,981 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,335,495,000 after purchasing an additional 590,872 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 71.2% during the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 1,370,572 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $140,077,000 after buying an additional 569,789 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 197,444 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,891,872.80. The trade was a 6.22 % decrease in their position. The sale 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 stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.01, for a total value of $2,380,175.00. Following 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. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

MS stock opened at $138.49 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $223.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.44, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.36. 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 firm has a 50 day moving average of $129.54 and a 200-day moving average of $115.26. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $83.09 and a 12-month high of $139.04.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its earnings results 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 return on equity of 14.39% and a net margin of 12.48%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.13 earnings per share. Morgan Stanley’s revenue was up 25.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.67%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.60%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Barclays upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $106.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price 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. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.