Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. Purchases 2,315 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 5.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 48,383 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,315 shares during the quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $6,083,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in MS. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 75.2% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,850,848 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $881,493,000 after purchasing an additional 3,369,520 shares during the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 382.4% in the third quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 1,597,800 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $166,555,000 after acquiring an additional 1,266,600 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at about $89,761,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 2.7% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 22,404,981 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,335,495,000 after acquiring an additional 590,872 shares during the period. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at about $71,927,000. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $140.70 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $132.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $119.40. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $84.43 and a one year high of $142.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The firm has a market cap of $226.67 billion, a PE ratio of 17.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.37.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.68. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 14.39% and a net margin of 12.48%. The firm had revenue of $16.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.13 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 25.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st were issued a $0.925 dividend. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.63%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 value of $1,783,811.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 197,444 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,891,872.80. This represents a 6.22 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group upped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Hsbc Global Res cut Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Barclays increased 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $146.00 to $153.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $131.27.

Morgan Stanley Company 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.