Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 4.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 4,285 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 196 shares during the period. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $539,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Peoples Bank KS bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of MS stock opened at $123.75 on Thursday. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $84.43 and a 1 year high of $142.03. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $132.90 and a 200-day moving average price of $121.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The company has a market cap of $199.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.59, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.35.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $15.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.13 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 46.60%.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In related news, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.01, for a total transaction of $2,380,175.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 81,440 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,076,654.40. The trade was a 17.69 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the insider now owns 197,444 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,891,872.80. This trade represents a 6.22 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MS has been the subject of several analyst reports. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $146.00 to $153.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. HSBC downgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their price target for the company from $128.00 to $131.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $131.27.

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.