Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Stake Boosted by Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC

Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 5.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 136,084 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,226 shares during the quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $17,108,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 15.1% in the fourth quarter. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,897 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $490,000 after acquiring an additional 510 shares in the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP bought a new position in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at about $3,962,000. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 17.1% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 77,156 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,700,000 after buying an additional 11,249 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 44.4% during the 4th quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 30,511 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,836,000 after acquiring an additional 9,377 shares in the last quarter. Finally, D Orazio & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at about $211,000. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock opened at $139.88 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $225.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.37. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $130.67 and its 200-day simple moving average is $117.26. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $83.09 and a twelve month high of $142.03. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.68. The company had revenue of $16.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.03 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 14.39% and a net margin of 12.48%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 25.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.13 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS 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 issued a dividend of $0.925 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.65%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is presently 46.60%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on MS shares. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $108.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $106.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Barclays raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, HSBC cut Morgan Stanley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $128.00 to $131.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $131.27.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.20, for a total transaction of $1,783,811.40. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 197,444 shares in the company, valued at $26,891,872.80. This represents a 6.22 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on 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 of the company’s stock, 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 corporate insiders.

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.