QRG Capital Management Inc. Purchases 10,009 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 4.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 254,124 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,009 shares during the quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $31,949,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Versor Investments LP raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 19.2% in the fourth quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 3,100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $390,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 26,142.5% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,055,210 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $132,661,000 after purchasing an additional 1,051,189 shares during the last quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 75.1% in the 4th quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. now owns 6,081 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $765,000 after purchasing an additional 2,609 shares during the last quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. now owns 268,800 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $33,794,000 after purchasing an additional 2,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Central Asset Investments & Management Holdings HK Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,587,000. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In related news, 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 value of $1,783,811.40. Following the sale, the insider now owns 197,444 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,891,872.80. This trade represents a 6.22 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 81,440 shares in the company, valued at $11,076,654.40. This represents a 17.69 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MS opened at $131.04 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $211.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.50, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.37. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $84.43 and a 12 month high of $142.03. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $132.62 and its 200-day simple moving average is $120.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $16.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.13 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 25.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st were paid a $0.925 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.82%. 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 increased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $104.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $146.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. HSBC lowered shares of Morgan Stanley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $128.00 to $131.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.