Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 15.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,494 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 866 shares during the quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $606,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. CGC Financial Services LLC boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 5,200.0% in the fourth quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 265 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares during the period. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 77.3% in the third quarter. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc now owns 328 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 123.2% in the third quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 442 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. Front Row Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 220.6% during the third quarter. Front Row Advisors LLC now owns 452 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 311 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other news, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.30, for a total value of $8,730,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 350,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,555,000. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, insider Charles Aubrey Smith III sold 11,200 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.09, for a total value of $1,009,008.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 126,190 shares in the company, valued at $11,368,457.10. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.30, for a total value of $8,730,000.00. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 350,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,555,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 237,855 shares of company stock worth $21,084,057. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:MS opened at $95.64 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89. The company has a market capitalization of $155.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.41. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $69.42 and a 52-week high of $96.05. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $90.69 and its 200-day simple moving average is $86.30.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.33. The company had revenue of $15.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.42 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 9.57% and a return on equity of 10.87%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.70 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 6.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be paid a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 29th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.55%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is currently 61.93%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on MS shares. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. TheStreet upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $91.00 price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $98.30.

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.