MWA Asset Management Buys New Stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

MWA Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 1,663 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $209,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MS. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 75.2% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,850,848 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $881,493,000 after purchasing an additional 3,369,520 shares in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 382.4% during the third quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 1,597,800 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $166,555,000 after buying an additional 1,266,600 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth approximately $89,761,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.7% in the third 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 acquiring an additional 590,872 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth approximately $71,927,000. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MS opened at $139.88 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $225.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.62, a P/E/G ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.37. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $130.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $117.00. 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 has a fifty-two week low of $83.09 and a fifty-two week high of $142.03.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $16.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.13 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 25.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be given a dividend of $0.925 per share. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.65%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.60%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MS has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Barclays lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $104.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target 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. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $131.27.

Insider Activity

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.20, for a total transaction of $1,783,811.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 197,444 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,891,872.80. This represents a 6.22 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.01, for a total value of $2,380,175.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 81,440 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,076,654.40. This trade represents a 17.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.