1,702 Shares in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Acquired by Beacon Financial Advisory LLC

Beacon Financial Advisory LLC bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 1,702 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $214,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. AMF Tjanstepension AB lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 10.9% during the third quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 256,360 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,755,000 after acquiring an additional 25,179 shares in the last quarter. Axiom Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the third quarter worth about $213,000. Brookstone Capital Management lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 7,028 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $733,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Hoxton Planning & Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $207,000. Finally, Strategic Wealth Partners Ltd. increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. Strategic Wealth Partners Ltd. now owns 5,904 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $615,000 after purchasing an additional 289 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of MS opened at $141.06 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $227.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.77, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $130.31 and its 200 day simple moving average is $116.83. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $83.09 and a 1-year high of $141.48.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.68. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 14.39%. The company had revenue of $16.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.03 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.13 EPS. Morgan Stanley’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be given a $0.925 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.62%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 46.60%.

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 value of $2,380,175.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 197,444 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,891,872.80. This represents a 6.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MS has been the topic of a number of research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $108.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. 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 report on Friday, January 17th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Morgan Stanley from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $107.00 to $142.00 in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res downgraded Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.