AMG National Trust Bank Buys 536 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

AMG National Trust Bank boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 3.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,808 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 536 shares during the period. AMG National Trust Bank’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $1,862,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in MS. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 75.2% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,850,848 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $881,493,000 after purchasing an additional 3,369,520 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $324,118,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 382.4% in the third quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 1,597,800 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $166,555,000 after acquiring an additional 1,266,600 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 26,142.5% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,055,210 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $132,661,000 after acquiring an additional 1,051,189 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth $89,761,000. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

NYSE:MS opened at $119.12 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $132.56 and its 200 day moving average is $121.83. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $85.01 and a 12 month high of $142.03. The company has a market capitalization of $192.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14.

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

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st were paid 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 3.11%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is currently 46.60%.

Insider Transactions 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 transaction of $1,783,811.40. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of the 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 in the company, valued at approximately $11,076,654.40. This represents a 17.69 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on MS. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on 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. boosted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $104.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $107.00 to $142.00 in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $146.00 to $153.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley presently has an average 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.