Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. Purchases 5,436 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 2.3% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 238,938 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 5,436 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley comprises about 1.3% of Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest position. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $30,039,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of MS. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 474.3% during the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 21,134 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,203,000 after acquiring an additional 17,454 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in 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 during the period. Matrix Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,040,000. Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 1,152,937 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $120,182,000 after buying an additional 16,350 shares during the period. Finally, Johnson & White Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth about $597,000. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Barclays boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report 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 report on Monday, November 25th. Bank of America increased 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. Finally, Hsbc Global Res lowered Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $131.27.

Morgan Stanley Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of MS stock opened at $136.00 on Thursday. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $83.09 and a fifty-two week high of $138.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $219.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.13, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.36. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $129.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $114.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 14.39%. The company had revenue of $16.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.03 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.13 EPS. Morgan Stanley’s revenue was up 25.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.925 per share. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.