Tritonpoint Wealth LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Tritonpoint Wealth LLC grew its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 13.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,397 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 398 shares during the period. Tritonpoint Wealth LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $427,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 327,295 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $41,147,000 after acquiring an additional 2,819 shares during the period. Comprehensive Financial Consultants Institutional Inc. raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 83.6% during the 4th quarter. Comprehensive Financial Consultants Institutional Inc. now owns 20,470 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,573,000 after purchasing an additional 9,318 shares during the period. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 6.8% in the 4th quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 35,921 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,516,000 after buying an additional 2,295 shares during the last quarter. Symphony Financial Ltd. Co. grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 51.1% during the fourth quarter. Symphony Financial Ltd. Co. now owns 9,440 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,285,000 after buying an additional 3,193 shares during the period. Finally, Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 15.1% in the fourth quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 7,979 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,020,000 after acquiring an additional 1,044 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MS opened at $138.35 on Monday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $129.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $116.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. The firm has a market cap of $222.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.36. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $83.09 and a fifty-two week high of $141.48.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.68. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 14.39%. The company had revenue of $16.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.03 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.13 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st will be given a dividend of $0.925 per share. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.67%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.60%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on MS shares. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Bank of America boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $146.00 to $153.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Hsbc Global Res downgraded Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $131.27.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.20, for a total transaction of $1,783,811.40. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 197,444 shares in the company, valued at $26,891,872.80. This trade represents a 6.22 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 81,440 shares of the company’s stock, 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.

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.