Fort Sheridan Advisors LLC Increases Holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Fort Sheridan Advisors LLC lifted its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 37.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,142 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,401 shares during the period. Fort Sheridan Advisors LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $646,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MS. Peoples Bank KS bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 138.1% in the third quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Planning Capital Management Corp raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 115.1% in the third quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 357 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 191 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $146.00 to $153.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Barclays upped 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $104.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. UBS Group increased 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. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the company 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $131.27.

Insider Activity

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 197,444 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,891,872.80. The trade was a 6.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.01, for a total transaction of $2,380,175.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 81,440 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,076,654.40. The trade was a 17.69 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE:MS opened at $129.23 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $132.80 and its 200 day moving average is $120.78. The stock has a market cap of $208.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.37. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $84.43 and a 52-week high of $142.03. 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 (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.68. The business had revenue of $16.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.03 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 14.39% and a net margin of 12.48%. The business’s revenue was up 25.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.13 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st were issued a $0.925 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.86%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.60%.

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.