WP Advisors LLC Takes Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

WP Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 1,688 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $212,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Peoples Bank KS purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 138.1% in the 3rd quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the period. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Planning Capital Management Corp raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 115.1% in the 3rd quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 357 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the insider now 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.01, for a total transaction of $2,380,175.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 81,440 shares in the company, valued at $11,076,654.40. The trade was 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.

Morgan Stanley Trading Down 4.5 %

Shares of MS opened at $134.36 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $132.28 and its 200-day moving average price is $119.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $216.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.92, a PEG ratio of 1.24 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. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $84.43 and a 1-year high of $142.03.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.68. The firm had revenue of $16.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.03 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 14.39%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.13 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st were paid a dividend of $0.925 per share. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.75%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 46.60%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MS has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 25th. HSBC cut shares of Morgan Stanley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $128.00 to $131.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $107.00 to $142.00 in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average 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.