Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH Buys 285,496 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH increased its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 6,665.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 289,779 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 285,496 shares during the quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $36,431,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MS. Atomi Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 18.0% during the fourth quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 15,220 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,913,000 after buying an additional 2,327 shares during the period. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 22.8% during the 4th quarter. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC now owns 3,371 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $424,000 after acquiring an additional 626 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Trust Co increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 6.5% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Trust Co now owns 7,723 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $971,000 after purchasing an additional 472 shares during the period. Lmcg Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 143.0% in the 4th quarter. Lmcg Investments LLC now owns 80,790 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,157,000 after purchasing an additional 47,544 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aspiriant LLC lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 6.2% in the 4th quarter. Aspiriant LLC now owns 2,961 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $372,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock opened at $137.42 on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $83.09 and a 12-month high of $138.08. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $129.13 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $114.03. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $221.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.31, a PEG ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.36.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.68. The company had revenue of $16.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.03 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 14.39% and a net margin of 12.48%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 25.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.13 EPS. Analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.06 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st will be given a $0.925 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.69%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.60%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MS. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $108.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 25th. Hsbc Global Res cut Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $131.27.

Morgan Stanley 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.