Avitas Wealth Management LLC Boosts Stock Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Avitas Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 0.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 79,237 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 557 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley accounts for approximately 1.4% of Avitas Wealth Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest holding. Avitas Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $9,962,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MS. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 474.3% during the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 21,134 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,203,000 after acquiring an additional 17,454 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.8% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,711,805 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $491,159,000 after acquiring an additional 36,120 shares during the last quarter. Matrix Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth about $2,040,000. Johnson & White Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth about $597,000. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.4% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 1,152,937 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $120,182,000 after acquiring an additional 16,350 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:MS opened at $136.78 on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $83.09 and a 12-month high of $141.48. The company has a market capitalization of $220.35 billion, a PE ratio of 17.23, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.37. The business has a 50 day moving average of $130.05 and a two-hundred day moving average of $116.43. 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 (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.68. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 14.39% and a net margin of 12.48%. The company had revenue of $16.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.03 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.13 earnings per share. Morgan Stanley’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.52 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.925 per share. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.71%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 46.60%.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other news, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.01, for a total transaction of $2,380,175.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 81,440 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,076,654.40. This represents a 17.69 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 197,444 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,891,872.80. The trade was a 6.22 % 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.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on MS. Barclays boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Hsbc Global Res lowered Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Morgan Stanley from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $107.00 to $142.00 in a research note on Friday, November 15th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 25th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus 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.