2,347 Shares in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Acquired by BlueStem Wealth Partners LLC

BlueStem Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 2,347 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $295,000.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Peoples Bank KS purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 138.1% in the 3rd quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at $43,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 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 transaction, the insider now owns 197,444 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,891,872.80. This represents a 6.22 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.01, for a total value of $2,380,175.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 81,440 shares in the company, 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. 0.24% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. UBS Group upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped 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. HSBC lowered Morgan Stanley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their price target for the company from $128.00 to $131.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $104.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $131.27.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

MS opened at $133.11 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $132.99 and its 200 day moving average price is $121.22. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $84.43 and a 12-month high of $142.03. 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 firm has a market cap of $214.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.76, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.37.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.68. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 14.39% and a net margin of 12.48%. The company had revenue of $16.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.03 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.13 EPS. Morgan Stanley’s revenue was up 25.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st were issued a dividend of $0.925 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.78%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.60%.

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.