Stephens Inc. AR Has $3.75 Million Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Stephens Inc. AR cut its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 6.4% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 29,822 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,027 shares during the quarter. Stephens Inc. AR’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $3,749,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Peoples Bank KS acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 138.1% in the 3rd quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares during the period. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Planning Capital Management Corp lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 115.1% during the third quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 357 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $137.17 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $83.09 and a 52 week high of $142.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $220.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.37. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $130.67 and a 200-day moving average of $117.46.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 EPS 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 firm had revenue of $16.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.13 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 25.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.70%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.60%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.20, for a total transaction of $1,783,811.40. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 197,444 shares in the company, valued at $26,891,872.80. This trade represents a 6.22 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of the company’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 transaction of $2,380,175.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 81,440 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,076,654.40. This trade represents a 17.69 % 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 Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on MS shares. Bank of America increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $146.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $104.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $106.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, HSBC lowered shares of Morgan Stanley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their target price for the stock 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 issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.