Howard Capital Management Group LLC Makes New Investment in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Howard Capital Management Group LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund acquired 1,316 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $165,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted 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 buying an additional 17,454 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,711,805 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $491,159,000 after purchasing an additional 36,120 shares in the last quarter. Matrix Trust Co purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth about $2,040,000. Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in 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 worth $120,182,000 after purchasing an additional 16,350 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Johnson & White Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth about $597,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

MS opened at $137.42 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $129.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is $114.03. 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 has a 1 year low of $83.09 and a 1 year high of $138.08. The firm has a market cap of $221.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.31, a PEG ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.36.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.68. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 14.39% and a net margin of 12.48%. The business had revenue of $16.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.13 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 25.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be issued a $0.925 dividend. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.60%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on MS. Wells Fargo & Company raised Morgan Stanley from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $107.00 to $142.00 in a report on Friday, November 15th. Citigroup increased 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. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $108.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Hsbc Global Res lowered Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Eleven investment 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 company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.