1,606 Shares in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Acquired by Vaughan David Investments LLC IL

Vaughan David Investments LLC IL bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 1,606 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $202,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 25,240,729 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,621,140,000 after purchasing an additional 269,633 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 22,404,981 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,335,495,000 after purchasing an additional 590,872 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 8,454,177 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $881,263,000 after purchasing an additional 385,780 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 75.2% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,850,848 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $881,493,000 after purchasing an additional 3,369,520 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.8% in 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 during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

MS opened at $129.58 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 company has a market capitalization of $208.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.37. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $132.42 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $120.65. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $84.43 and a 1 year high of $142.03.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $16.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.03 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 14.39%. The business’s revenue for the quarter 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. As a group, analysts anticipate 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 issued a dividend of $0.925 per share. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.86%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is 46.60%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $107.00 to $142.00 in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $146.00 to $153.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $131.27.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 197,444 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,891,872.80. The trade was a 6.22 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of the business’s 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 completion of 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 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.