IFG Advisory LLC Boosts Stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

IFG Advisory LLC raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 1.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 19,862 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 249 shares during the period. IFG Advisory LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $1,852,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at about $956,566,000. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 125,756.8% in the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 10,641,190 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $904,714,000 after acquiring an additional 10,632,735 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley in the third quarter valued at approximately $477,765,000. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the first quarter worth $451,711,000. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 21.2% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 23,474,452 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,917,159,000 after purchasing an additional 4,098,577 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on MS shares. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $91.00 price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $102.00 to $116.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 2nd. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $91.00 target price (down from $102.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $87.00 price target (down previously from $94.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $94.23.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 2.4 %

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $93.50 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $87.13 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $84.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $152.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.09, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.43. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $69.42 and a 52-week high of $95.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $12.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.77 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 9.49% and a return on equity of 10.36%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.31 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 31st were paid a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.64%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.76%.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In related news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.13, for a total transaction of $841,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 323,490 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,215,213.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.13, for a total transaction of $841,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 323,490 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,215,213.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.30, for a total transaction of $8,730,000.00. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 350,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,555,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 208,155 shares of company stock valued at $18,149,314. Company insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

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.