Stonegate Investment Group LLC Has $12.50 Million Stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Stonegate Investment Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 0.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 99,413 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 526 shares during the period. Stonegate Investment Group LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $12,498,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Peoples Bank KS bought a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 138.1% in the 3rd quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 174 shares during the period. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Planning Capital Management Corp increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 115.1% in the 3rd quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 357 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 191 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Trading Down 0.9 %

NYSE MS opened at $136.63 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $129.48 and a 200 day simple moving average of $115.04. The company has a market capitalization of $220.12 billion, a PE ratio of 17.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.36. 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 has a 12 month low of $83.09 and a 12 month high of $139.04.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.68. The business had revenue of $16.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.03 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 14.39% and a net margin of 12.48%. The firm’s revenue was up 25.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.13 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.49 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be issued a $0.925 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.71%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.60%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MS has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $104.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. 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 report on Friday, November 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $106.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Eleven 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, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $131.27.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 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 value of $2,380,175.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 81,440 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,076,654.40. This trade represents a 17.69 % 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.

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.