Souders Financial Advisors Buys Shares of 2,499 Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Souders Financial Advisors bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 2,499 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $314,000.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of MS. Van ECK Associates Corp purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the third quarter valued at approximately $215,000. Catalina Capital Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 4.6% during the third quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 4,501 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $469,000 after buying an additional 199 shares during the period. Radnor Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,316,000. Umpqua Bank boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.7% during the third quarter. Umpqua Bank now owns 13,039 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,359,000 after buying an additional 346 shares during the period. Finally, Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 10.9% during the third quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 17,441 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,818,000 after buying an additional 1,717 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 1.7 %

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $123.75 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $132.90 and a two-hundred day moving average of $121.72. The firm has a market cap of $199.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $84.43 and a twelve month high of $142.03.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.68. The business had revenue of $16.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.03 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 14.39% and a net margin of 12.48%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 25.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.13 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st were given a dividend of $0.925 per share. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.99%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is presently 46.60%.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In related news, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.01, for a total value of $2,380,175.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 81,440 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,076,654.40. This represents a 17.69 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 197,444 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Hsbc Global Res lowered Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Morgan Stanley from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $107.00 to $142.00 in a report on Friday, November 15th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $104.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $131.27.

Morgan Stanley 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.