Avitas Wealth Management LLC Raises Holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Avitas Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 0.7% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 79,237 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 557 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley accounts for approximately 1.4% of Avitas Wealth Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest position. Avitas Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $9,962,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 15.5% in the 4th quarter. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB now owns 55,806 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,016,000 after buying an additional 7,480 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 11,326 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,424,000 after buying an additional 285 shares in the last quarter. Welch Group LLC grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Welch Group LLC now owns 2,281 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $287,000 after buying an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 54.2% in the 4th quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. now owns 1,503 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $189,000 after buying an additional 528 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Calamos Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 18.3% in the 4th quarter. Calamos Wealth Management LLC now owns 96,734 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $12,161,000 after buying an additional 14,933 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 81,440 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,076,654.40. The trade was a 17.69 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on MS. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $108.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Citigroup upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 25th. HSBC lowered Morgan Stanley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their price target for the company from $128.00 to $131.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $104.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $131.27.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

MS stock opened at $136.78 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $220.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.37. The business’s 50-day moving average is $130.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $116.43. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $83.09 and a 1 year high of $141.48.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.68. The company had revenue of $16.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.03 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 14.39% and a net margin of 12.48%. Morgan Stanley’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.13 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be given a $0.925 dividend. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.60%.

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.