585 Shares in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Bought by Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc.

Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 585 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $74,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 45.5% in the fourth quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 117,571 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $14,781,000 after purchasing an additional 36,790 shares during the period. Sciencast Management LP bought a new position in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth $3,046,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth $136,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. now owns 6,616 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $832,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the period. Finally, Antonelli Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth $301,000. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on MS. Bank of America increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $146.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Hsbc Global Res lowered Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $144.00 to $126.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, HSBC lowered Morgan Stanley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $128.00 to $131.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $131.60.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of MS stock opened at $120.26 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $130.55 and a 200 day moving average price of $122.81. 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 firm has a market cap of $193.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.15, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.35. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $85.01 and a 12 month high of $142.03.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced 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 firm had revenue of $16.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.03 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.13 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 25.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders 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 yield of 3.08%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.60%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated 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 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of Morgan Stanley 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 81,440 shares in the company, valued at $11,076,654.40. This trade represents a 17.69 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

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.