New Republic Capital LLC Grows Stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

New Republic Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 0.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 102,376 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley comprises approximately 8.4% of New Republic Capital LLC’s holdings, making the stock its largest position. New Republic Capital LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $12,871,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Peoples Bank KS purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 138.1% during the third quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Trading Down 2.0 %

Shares of MS stock opened at $137.17 on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $83.09 and a fifty-two week high of $142.03. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $130.67 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $117.46. The stock has a market cap of $220.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.68. The firm had revenue of $16.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.03 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 14.39%. The firm’s revenue was up 25.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.13 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be issued 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 2.70%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.60%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $146.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 25th. 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 note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $104.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Eleven 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, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $131.27.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.20, for a total value of $1,783,811.40. Following the sale, the insider now owns 197,444 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,891,872.80. This trade represents a 6.22 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.01, for a total transaction of $2,380,175.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 81,440 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,076,654.40. This trade represents a 17.69 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

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.