Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. Boosts Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. raised its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 0.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 126,809 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 514 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $15,942,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 6,156 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $774,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 4,727 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $594,000 after buying an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 4,408 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $554,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the period. Perfromance Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Perfromance Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,004 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $378,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the period. Finally, Quent Capital LLC increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 12,298 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,546,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of MS opened at $115.41 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $131.30 and its 200-day moving average price is $122.51. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $85.01 and a 1-year high of $142.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $186.15 billion, a PE ratio of 14.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.35.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. 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 analyst estimates of $15.03 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.13 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 25.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st were issued a dividend of $0.925 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.21%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.60%.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In related news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $26,891,872.80. This trade represents a 6.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.01, for a total value of $2,380,175.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now 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. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on MS shares. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Bank of America increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $146.00 to $153.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Barclays raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $104.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus 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.