Precedent Wealth Partners LLC Invests $233,000 in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Precedent Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 1,853 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $233,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 474.3% during the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 21,134 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,203,000 after purchasing an additional 17,454 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of 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 bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,040,000. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 1.4% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 1,152,937 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $120,182,000 after buying an additional 16,350 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Johnson & White Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at about $597,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of MS stock opened at $137.85 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $129.48 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $114.87. 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 has a 52-week low of $83.09 and a 52-week high of $139.04. The stock has a market cap of $222.09 billion, a PE ratio of 17.36, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.36.

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. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 14.39%. The business 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. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 25.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.49 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.925 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.68%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 46.60%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MS has been the topic of several recent research reports. Barclays lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $106.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 25th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $146.00 to $153.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. 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 data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $131.27.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 81,440 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,076,654.40. This trade represents a 17.69 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 197,444 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,891,872.80. This trade represents a 6.22 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

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.