Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Shares Acquired by StoneX Group Inc.

StoneX Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 22.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 32,759 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,071 shares during the quarter. StoneX Group Inc.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $4,118,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MS. Peoples Bank KS purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Curio Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MS has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $142.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Citigroup lowered their target price on Morgan Stanley from $135.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Barclays boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $124.00 to $129.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $131.53.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MS opened at $116.85 on Tuesday. 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 firm’s 50-day moving average price is $129.19 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $124.11. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $85.01 and a 52-week high of $142.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $188.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.35.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced 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 business had revenue of $16.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.13 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 25.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st were given a dividend of $0.925 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.17%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.60%.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In other news, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of the 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 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 represents a 17.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated 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 represents a 6.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by 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.