Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Shares Bought by First National Advisers LLC

First National Advisers LLC increased its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 4.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 36,489 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,557 shares during the period. First National Advisers LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $4,587,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 17,454 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake 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 valued at $491,159,000 after acquiring an additional 36,120 shares during the period. Matrix Trust Co acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,040,000. Johnson & White Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $597,000. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its stake 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 valued at $120,182,000 after acquiring an additional 16,350 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MS opened at $115.41 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $186.15 billion, a PE ratio of 14.54, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.35. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $131.30 and a 200 day moving average of $122.37. 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 one year low of $85.01 and a one year high of $142.03.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued 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 company had revenue of $16.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.03 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 14.39%. The firm’s revenue was up 25.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.13 EPS. As a group, research 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 dividend of $0.925 per share. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.21%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 46.60%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MS has been the subject of several research reports. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. HSBC lowered shares of Morgan Stanley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $128.00 to $131.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $146.00 to $153.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $131.27.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other news, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 81,440 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,076,654.40. This represents a 17.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $26,891,872.80. The trade was a 6.22 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

About Morgan Stanley

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.