Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Holdings Lifted by Foundations Investment Advisors LLC

Foundations Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS – Get Rating) by 128.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 37,462 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 21,047 shares during the quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $3,185,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Norway Savings Bank grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Norway Savings Bank now owns 2,943 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $250,000 after buying an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 625,752 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $53,201,000 after buying an additional 3,256 shares in the last quarter. McGuire Investment Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. McGuire Investment Group LLC now owns 83,871 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,131,000 after buying an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. Gries Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 47.4% during the fourth quarter. Gries Financial LLC now owns 30,389 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,584,000 after buying an additional 9,773 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Coldstream Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at $5,157,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.48% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of MS traded down $2.83 on Friday, hitting $84.18. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 19,935,825 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,134,612. The company has a market capitalization of $141.59 billion, a PE ratio of 13.71, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.57, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $72.05 and a fifty-two week high of $100.99. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $95.40 and a 200 day moving average price of $88.84.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS – Get Rating) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $12.75 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.16 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 12.06% and a net margin of 16.73%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 7.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 31st were issued a $0.775 dividend. This represents a $3.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is currently 50.49%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on MS shares. Credit Suisse Group lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 19th. Citigroup cut Morgan Stanley from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $100.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, January 18th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $83.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $80.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $97.28.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 44,910 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.05, for a total transaction of $4,358,515.50. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 348,531 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $33,824,933.55. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 44,910 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.05, for a total transaction of $4,358,515.50. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 348,531 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $33,824,933.55. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO James P. Gorman sold 250,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.93, for a total value of $24,232,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,112,348 shares in the company, valued at approximately $107,819,891.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 341,699 shares of company stock valued at $33,143,046. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Morgan Stanley Company Profile

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Morgan Stanley operates as a global financial services company. The firm provides investment banking products and services to its clients and customers including corporations, governments, financial institutions, and individuals. It operates through the following segments: Institutional Securities, Wealth Management, and Investment Management.