Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Shares Purchased by Bailard Inc.

Bailard Inc. increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 1.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 214,107 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,240 shares during the period. Bailard Inc.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $26,918,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MS. Peoples Bank KS purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 138.1% in the 3rd quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Planning Capital Management Corp lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 115.1% in the 3rd quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 357 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 3.0 %

MS stock opened at $133.11 on Friday. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $84.43 and a 12 month high of $142.03. The firm has a market cap of $214.69 billion, a PE ratio of 16.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.37. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $132.99 and a 200 day simple moving average of $121.22. 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 earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.68. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 14.39%. The business had revenue of $16.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.03 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.13 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 25.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st were given a $0.925 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.78%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.60%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $104.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. HSBC lowered shares of Morgan Stanley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $128.00 to $131.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $107.00 to $142.00 in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $146.00 to $153.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $131.27.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In related news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.20, for a total value of $1,783,811.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 197,444 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,891,872.80. This represents a 6.22 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of the company’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 transaction of $2,380,175.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 81,440 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,076,654.40. This trade represents 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.

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.