1,722 Shares in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Acquired by Graves Light Lenhart Wealth Inc.

Graves Light Lenhart Wealth Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 1,722 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $216,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MS. Sivia Capital Partners LLC grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,748 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $346,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the period. Bank of New Hampshire grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New Hampshire now owns 6,313 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $794,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares during the period. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 2.6% during the third quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 3,748 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $391,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Omnia Family Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 3.3% in the third quarter. Omnia Family Wealth LLC now owns 3,063 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $319,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the period. Finally, Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 2.8% in the third quarter. Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC now owns 3,642 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $380,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In related news, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.17, for a total value of $7,150,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 138,363 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,488,718.71. This trade represents a 30.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of MS opened at $124.03 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $199.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.36. 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 has a 1 year low of $83.09 and a 1 year high of $136.24. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $128.61 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $112.83.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.57 by $0.31. The company had revenue of $15.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.27 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 10.64% and a return on equity of 12.58%. On average, equities analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 7.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st were given a $0.925 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.98%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 56.32%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Morgan Stanley from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $107.00 to $142.00 in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 25th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Barclays upped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $135.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $108.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $126.07.

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.