Golden State Equity Partners Purchases 2,701 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Golden State Equity Partners raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 24.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,676 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,701 shares during the period. Golden State Equity Partners’ holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $1,719,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MS. Peoples Bank KS purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 138.1% during the third quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at about $43,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in Morgan Stanley in the third quarter worth about $36,000. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on MS shares. Bank of America raised 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. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $107.00 to $142.00 in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Hsbc Global Res downgraded Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $106.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $108.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $131.27.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In related news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.20, for a total transaction of $1,783,811.40. Following the sale, the insider now owns 197,444 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,891,872.80. This trade represents a 6.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction 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 company’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 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Trading Down 1.1 %

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $138.35 on Friday. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $83.09 and a 52 week high of $141.48. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $129.97 and a 200 day moving average price of $116.14. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14. The company has a market capitalization of $222.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.36.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.68. The business had revenue of $16.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.03 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 14.39%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 25.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.13 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.52 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be given a dividend of $0.925 per share. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.67%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio 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.