SouthState Corp Grows Stock Holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

SouthState Corp boosted its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 1.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 18,354 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 301 shares during the period. SouthState Corp’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $2,307,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Yardley Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth approximately $724,000. SlateStone Wealth LLC grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC now owns 5,422 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $682,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares during the period. First National Advisers LLC grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. First National Advisers LLC now owns 36,489 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,587,000 after acquiring an additional 1,557 shares during the period. GWN Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth approximately $255,000. Finally, Greenwich Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 8.2% in the 4th quarter. Greenwich Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,703 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,723,000 after acquiring an additional 1,036 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on MS. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. UBS Group lifted their price target 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. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 25th. Bank of America lifted their price target 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. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $131.27.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now owns 197,444 shares in the company, valued at $26,891,872.80. This represents a 6.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 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 transaction of $2,380,175.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 81,440 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,076,654.40. This trade represents a 17.69 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $115.41 on Monday. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $85.01 and a 12-month high of $142.03. The company has a market capitalization of $186.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $131.30 and its 200 day moving average price is $122.51.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its 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. The business had revenue of $16.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.03 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 14.39%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.13 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st were paid a $0.925 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.21%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.60%.

Morgan Stanley 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.