Myriad Asset Management US LP Takes Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Myriad Asset Management US LP bought a new position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm bought 8,194 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,030,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. DGS Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 4,408 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $554,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Perfromance Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Perfromance Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,004 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $378,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 12,298 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,546,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Avestar Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 13,290 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,671,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kennebec Savings Bank boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank now owns 2,908 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $361,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of MS stock opened at $139.19 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $224.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.53, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.37. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $84.41 and a 52 week high of $142.03. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $131.22 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $118.20.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly 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. The business had revenue of $16.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.03 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 14.39%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 25.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.13 EPS. Analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st were issued a $0.925 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.66%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.60%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MS. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $107.00 to $142.00 in a research report on Friday, November 15th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $146.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $104.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $131.27.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In related news, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 81,440 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,076,654.40. This represents a 17.69 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now owns 197,444 shares in the company, valued at $26,891,872.80. The trade was a 6.22 % 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.

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.