Constitution Capital LLC Buys New Holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Constitution Capital LLC purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 2,300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $289,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Bouvel Investment Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Bouvel Investment Partners LLC now owns 26,611 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,346,000 after acquiring an additional 687 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 29,253 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,678,000 after purchasing an additional 991 shares during the last quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at about $218,000. Mirador Capital Partners LP purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth approximately $241,000. Finally, Mason & Associates Inc lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Mason & Associates Inc now owns 3,177 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $399,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 4.0 %

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $135.80 on Friday. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $83.09 and a 12 month high of $136.24. 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 business’s fifty day simple moving average is $128.74 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $113.15. The company has a market capitalization of $218.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.36.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.57 by $0.31. The company had revenue of $15.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.27 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 10.64% and a return on equity of 12.58%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 7.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st will be given a dividend of $0.925 per share. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.72%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 56.32%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MS has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $135.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday. Hsbc Global Res cut shares of Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $106.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, HSBC downgraded Morgan Stanley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $128.00 to $131.00 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $126.53.

About Morgan Stanley

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.