GLOBALT Investments LLC GA Has $8.44 Million Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

GLOBALT Investments LLC GA lowered its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 1.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 67,094 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 968 shares during the period. GLOBALT Investments LLC GA’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $8,435,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MS. SlateStone Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC now owns 5,422 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $682,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares during the period. First National Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. First National Advisers LLC now owns 36,489 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,587,000 after acquiring an additional 1,557 shares during the period. GWN Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at $255,000. Greenwich Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 8.2% during the fourth quarter. Greenwich Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,703 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,723,000 after acquiring an additional 1,036 shares during the period. Finally, Centurion Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at $208,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of MS stock opened at $115.41 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $131.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $122.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14. The firm has a market cap of $186.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.54, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.35. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $85.01 and a 12 month high of $142.03.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.68. The company had revenue of $16.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.03 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 14.39% and a net margin of 12.48%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.13 EPS. Research analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st were given a dividend of $0.925 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.21%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is currently 46.60%.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In related news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 81,440 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,076,654.40. This represents a 17.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on MS shares. Hsbc Global Res cut Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Bank of America lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $146.00 to $153.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 25th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $131.27.

Morgan Stanley 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.