Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Stock Holdings Lifted by Kennebec Savings Bank

Kennebec Savings Bank lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 2.9% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 2,908 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $361,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. AA Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 24.7% during the 4th quarter. AA Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,216 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $404,000 after purchasing an additional 637 shares during the period. Cibc World Market Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 40.6% during the fourth quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 511,824 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $64,347,000 after buying an additional 147,807 shares in the last quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 24.9% during the fourth quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd now owns 132,977 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $16,681,000 after buying an additional 26,518 shares during the period. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth about $481,000. Finally, Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 14,472 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,819,000 after acquiring an additional 352 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was 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 trade 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 business’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 value of $2,380,175.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 81,440 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,076,654.40. This represents a 17.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MS has been the topic of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $104.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, HSBC cut Morgan Stanley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $128.00 to $131.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Eleven equities 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, Morgan Stanley currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $131.27.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

NYSE:MS opened at $140.05 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $225.63 billion, a PE ratio of 17.64, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.36. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $83.09 and a 1 year high of $141.48. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $129.80 and its 200 day simple moving average is $115.67.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.03 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.13 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.52 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.64%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is 46.60%.

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.