Rockingstone Advisors LLC Purchases Shares of 1,715 Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Rockingstone Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 1,715 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $216,000.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Peoples Bank KS bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 138.1% in the third quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in Morgan Stanley during the third quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Planning Capital Management Corp raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 115.1% in the 3rd quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 357 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $131.08 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $128.74 and its 200 day moving average is $113.02. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $83.09 and a one year high of $136.24. The firm has a market cap of $211.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.57 by $0.31. The company had revenue of $15.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.27 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 12.58% and a net margin of 10.64%. As a group, research analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 7.33 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on MS shares. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $135.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $140.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. HSBC downgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $128.00 to $131.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $106.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $126.07.

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.