Viking Fund Management LLC Has $11.94 Million Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Viking Fund Management LLC cut its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 5.0% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 95,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 5,000 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley makes up approximately 1.9% of Viking Fund Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Viking Fund Management LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $11,943,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Advisory Alpha LLC increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC now owns 2,577 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $324,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the period. West Branch Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 300.9% during the fourth quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 1,295 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $163,000 after buying an additional 972 shares during the period. Eads & Heald Wealth Management raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Eads & Heald Wealth Management now owns 7,085 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $891,000 after buying an additional 322 shares in the last quarter. XML Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth about $328,000. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 8.3% during the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 590,347 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $74,218,000 after acquiring an additional 45,201 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

NYSE MS opened at $137.42 on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $83.09 and a one year high of $138.08. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $129.24 and a 200 day moving average of $114.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. The company has a market capitalization of $221.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.31, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.36.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.68. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 14.39%. The firm had revenue of $16.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.03 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.13 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 25.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.32 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st will be given a dividend of $0.925 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.69%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.60%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on MS shares. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Morgan Stanley from $106.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $104.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Morgan Stanley from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $107.00 to $142.00 in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Eleven 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 stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.