Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Shares Acquired by Hartline Investment Corp

Hartline Investment Corp lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 0.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 67,466 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 292 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley makes up approximately 1.0% of Hartline Investment Corp’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position. Hartline Investment Corp’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $8,482,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. AMF Tjanstepension AB increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 10.9% in the 3rd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 256,360 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,755,000 after purchasing an additional 25,179 shares during the last quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 14.6% in the 3rd quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 17,872 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,863,000 after purchasing an additional 2,281 shares during the last quarter. Webster Bank N. A. increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 11.9% in the 3rd quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 3,347 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $349,000 after purchasing an additional 356 shares during the last quarter. Paladin Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $880,000. Finally, Procyon Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 14.0% in the 3rd quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 14,690 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,531,000 after purchasing an additional 1,803 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In other 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 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. This represents a 17.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the company’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 directly owns 197,444 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,891,872.80. The trade was a 6.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 MS opened at $137.17 on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $83.09 and a 1-year high of $142.03. The stock has a market cap of $220.98 billion, a PE ratio of 17.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $130.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $117.46.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.03 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.13 earnings per share. Morgan Stanley’s quarterly revenue was up 25.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st will be given a $0.925 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.70%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.60%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on MS. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted 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 boosted their price target 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. Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $106.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $131.27.

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.