Mosaic Financial Group LLC Has $321,000 Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Mosaic Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 11.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,552 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 258 shares during the quarter. Mosaic Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $321,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MS. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,711,805 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $491,159,000 after purchasing an additional 36,120 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 0.7% during the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 122,900 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $12,811,000 after acquiring an additional 845 shares in the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the third quarter valued at $3,505,000. Aureus Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Aureus Asset Management LLC now owns 57,159 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,958,000 after acquiring an additional 617 shares during the period. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3,067.9% during the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 22,872 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,384,000 after purchasing an additional 22,150 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 1.3 %

NYSE MS opened at $116.85 on Tuesday. 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 company has a market cap of $188.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.72, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a 50 day moving average of $129.19 and a 200-day moving average of $124.11. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $85.01 and a 1-year high of $142.03.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $16.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.03 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 14.39% and a net margin of 12.48%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 25.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.13 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

MS has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $144.00 to $126.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Erste Group Bank lowered Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $124.00 to $129.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $142.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $146.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Twelve equities research 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, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $131.53.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other news, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of Morgan Stanley 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 transaction, 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the company’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 sale, the insider now owns 197,444 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,891,872.80. This represents a 6.22 % 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.

About Morgan Stanley

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.