Rakuten Securities Inc. Has $325,000 Stock Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 761.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,584 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,284 shares during the quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $325,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Peoples Bank KS bought a new position in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth approximately $43,000. Planning Capital Management Corp increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 115.1% during the 3rd quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 357 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth approximately $48,000. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock opened at $112.18 on Wednesday. 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 has a fifty day moving average price of $132.01 and a 200 day moving average price of $122.27. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $85.01 and a 1 year high of $142.03. The stock has a market cap of $180.93 billion, a PE ratio of 14.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.35.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.13 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict 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 paid a $0.925 dividend. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.60%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the company’s 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 completion of 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 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 transaction of $2,380,175.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 81,440 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,076,654.40. The trade was a 17.69 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on MS shares. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Bank of America raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $146.00 to $153.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Morgan Stanley from $104.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. HSBC lowered Morgan Stanley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $128.00 to $131.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised Morgan Stanley from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $107.00 to $142.00 in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $131.27.

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.