Donoghue Forlines LLC Buys New Holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Donoghue Forlines LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm purchased 12,283 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,544,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Baron Silver Stevens Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth about $202,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,802 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,107,000 after acquiring an additional 395 shares during the period. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. now owns 238,938 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,039,000 after purchasing an additional 5,436 shares during the last quarter. True North Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1,025.8% during the fourth quarter. True North Advisors LLC now owns 28,595 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,595,000 after purchasing an additional 26,055 shares during the period. Finally, Magnus Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 13.4% during the 4th quarter. Magnus Financial Group LLC now owns 12,971 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,631,000 after purchasing an additional 1,532 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on MS shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised Morgan Stanley from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $107.00 to $142.00 in a report on Friday, November 15th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $108.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. HSBC downgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $128.00 to $131.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $104.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $131.27.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock opened at $137.24 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $221.10 billion, a PE ratio of 17.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $129.30 and its 200 day moving average is $114.45. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $83.09 and a 1 year high of $138.38.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $16.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.13 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 25.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.925 per share. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.70%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.