Alliancebernstein L.P. Grows Stock Holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 1.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,889,322 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 47,221 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned 0.18% of Morgan Stanley worth $363,246,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MS. Peoples Bank KS bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Curio Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE MS opened at $116.85 on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $85.01 and a 1 year high of $142.03. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $129.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $124.11. The company has a market cap of $188.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.72, a PEG 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.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $16.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.03 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.13 EPS. Morgan Stanley’s quarterly revenue was up 25.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st were issued a $0.925 dividend. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is presently 46.60%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on MS. Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Barclays upped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Bank of America raised 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $142.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $131.53.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Morgan Stanley news, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 81,440 shares in the company, valued at $11,076,654.40. This trade represents a 17.69 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, 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 value of $1,783,811.40. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 197,444 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,891,872.80. This trade represents a 6.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.