Park Avenue Securities LLC Increases Stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 22.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 29,300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 5,368 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $3,684,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 474.3% during the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 21,134 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,203,000 after buying an additional 17,454 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.8% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,711,805 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $491,159,000 after acquiring an additional 36,120 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 1,152,937 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $120,182,000 after purchasing an additional 16,350 shares during the last quarter. Matrix Trust Co bought a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth about $2,040,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 75.2% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,850,848 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $881,493,000 after purchasing an additional 3,369,520 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 4.0 %

NYSE MS opened at $135.80 on Friday. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $83.09 and a 12 month high of $136.24. 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 stock has a market cap of $218.77 billion, a PE ratio of 20.67, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.36. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $128.74 and its 200 day moving average is $113.15.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.57 by $0.31. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 10.64% and a return on equity of 12.58%. The business had revenue of $15.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.27 billion. Research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 7.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st will be issued a $0.925 dividend. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.72%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.32%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MS. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $140.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $135.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $102.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $104.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, 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. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $126.07.

About Morgan Stanley

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.