Worth Asset Management LLC Takes Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Worth Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 11,916 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,498,000.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 25,240,729 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,621,140,000 after purchasing an additional 269,633 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 22,404,981 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,335,495,000 after buying an additional 590,872 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 10,597,493 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,029,970,000 after buying an additional 212,551 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 8,834,372 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $858,573,000 after acquiring an additional 242,896 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 8,454,177 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $881,263,000 after acquiring an additional 385,780 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, HSBC lowered Morgan Stanley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $128.00 to $131.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $125.80.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.17, for a total transaction of $7,150,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 138,363 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,488,718.71. The trade was a 30.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Morgan Stanley Trading Down 0.3 %

Morgan Stanley stock traded down $0.36 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $126.52. The stock had a trading volume of 2,469,088 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,046,275. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $127.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $112.02. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $203.83 billion, a PE ratio of 19.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.36. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $83.09 and a 12 month high of $136.24.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.57 by $0.31. The company had revenue of $15.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.27 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 10.64% and a return on equity of 12.58%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 7.33 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were given a dividend of $0.925 per share. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.92%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 56.32%.

Morgan Stanley Company 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.