Crestwood Advisors Group LLC Boosts Stock Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Crestwood Advisors Group LLC raised its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 5.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,830 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 679 shares during the period. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $1,613,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 165.9% during the fourth quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 9,877 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,242,000 after buying an additional 6,163 shares during the period. Partners Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth $378,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth $3,975,000. World Equity Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at $316,000. Finally, Lansing Street Advisors increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Lansing Street Advisors now owns 12,385 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,557,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

MS stock opened at $129.80 on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $84.43 and a one year high of $142.03. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $132.38 and a two-hundred day moving average of $120.41. 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 has a market capitalization of $209.11 billion, a PE ratio of 16.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.37.

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

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.85%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is 46.60%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on MS shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Bank of America lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $146.00 to $153.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $104.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $131.27.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.20, for a total transaction of $1,783,811.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 197,444 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,891,872.80. This trade represents a 6.22 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 81,440 shares of the company’s stock, 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. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.