Mizuho Securities USA LLC Purchases 36,790 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 45.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 117,571 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 36,790 shares during the quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $14,781,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Peoples Bank KS bought a new position in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Curio Wealth LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $43,000. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MS opened at $120.26 on Friday. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $85.01 and a twelve month high of $142.03. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $130.55 and a 200 day simple moving average of $122.81. The company has a market capitalization of $193.96 billion, a PE ratio of 15.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.68. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 14.39%. The business had revenue of $16.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.13 earnings per share. Morgan Stanley’s quarterly revenue was up 25.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st were paid 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 of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.60%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on MS. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price 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. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $144.00 to $126.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $131.60.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.20, for a total value of $1,783,811.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 197,444 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,891,872.80. The trade was a 6.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of Morgan Stanley 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 directly 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.

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.