NTV Asset Management LLC Takes Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

NTV Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 1,692 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $213,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 474.3% during the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 21,134 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,203,000 after purchasing an additional 17,454 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in 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 worth $491,159,000 after buying an additional 36,120 shares in the last quarter. Matrix Trust Co acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,040,000. Johnson & White Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth approximately $597,000. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 1,152,937 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $120,182,000 after acquiring an additional 16,350 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.01, for a total transaction of $2,380,175.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 81,440 shares in the company, valued at $11,076,654.40. This represents a 17.69 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were 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 owns 197,444 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,891,872.80. The trade was a 6.22 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock opened at $139.19 on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $84.41 and a fifty-two week high of $142.03. The company has a market cap of $224.24 billion, a PE ratio of 17.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.37. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $131.40 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $118.67. 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 (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.68. The company had revenue of $16.23 billion for 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 was up 25.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.13 EPS. Analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

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. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is currently 46.60%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded 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. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price 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. HSBC lowered shares of Morgan Stanley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $128.00 to $131.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $131.27.

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.