Boston Common Asset Management LLC Grows Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Boston Common Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 20.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 142,387 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 24,554 shares during the quarter. Boston Common Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $17,901,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 474.3% in the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 21,134 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,203,000 after acquiring an additional 17,454 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.8% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,711,805 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $491,159,000 after buying an additional 36,120 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 1,152,937 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $120,182,000 after buying an additional 16,350 shares in the last quarter. Matrix Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,040,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 75.2% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,850,848 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $881,493,000 after acquiring an additional 3,369,520 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock traded up $0.46 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $136.27. 1,795,319 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,074,270. The business has a fifty day moving average of $128.74 and a two-hundred day moving average of $113.15. The company has a market capitalization of $219.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.36. 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 has a 1 year low of $83.09 and a 1 year high of $136.39.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.57 by $0.31. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 10.64% and a return on equity of 12.58%. The company had revenue of $15.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.27 billion. As a group, research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 7.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors 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 yield of 2.72%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 56.32%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $108.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Morgan Stanley from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $107.00 to $142.00 in a report on Friday, November 15th. Bank of America lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $140.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $104.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $126.53.

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.