Rothschild Investment LLC Raises Holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Rothschild Investment LLC increased its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 1.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 7,970 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $1,002,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MS. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 12,830 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,613,000 after purchasing an additional 679 shares during the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 165.9% in the fourth quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 9,877 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,242,000 after purchasing an additional 6,163 shares during the period. Partners Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $378,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,975,000. Finally, World Equity Group Inc. purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $316,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

NYSE MS opened at $129.80 on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $84.43 and a 52-week high of $142.03. The company has a fifty day moving average of $132.38 and a 200-day moving average of $120.41. The company has a market capitalization of $209.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.37. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.13 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 25.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st were given a dividend of $0.925 per share. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is currently 46.60%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 81,440 shares in the company, valued at $11,076,654.40. This trade represents a 17.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MS has been the topic of several recent research reports. Barclays increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Hsbc Global Res cut Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $104.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Citigroup increased their price target 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. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $131.27.

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.