Boston Common Asset Management LLC Raises Stock Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Boston Common Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 20.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 142,387 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 24,554 shares during the quarter. Boston Common Asset Management LLC's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $17,901,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MS. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 75.2% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,850,848 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $881,493,000 after acquiring an additional 3,369,520 shares during the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 382.4% in the third quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 1,597,800 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $166,555,000 after purchasing an additional 1,266,600 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at $89,761,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 2.7% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 22,404,981 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,335,495,000 after purchasing an additional 590,872 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 71.2% in the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 1,370,572 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $140,077,000 after buying an additional 569,789 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of MS traded up $1.97 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $137.78. 12,389,736 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,932,170. The company has a market capitalization of $221.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.97, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.36. 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 52 week low of $83.09 and a 52 week high of $138.08. The company's 50 day moving average is $129.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $113.58.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.57 by $0.31. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 10.64% and a return on equity of 12.58%. The company had revenue of $15.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.27 billion. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 7.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.925 per share. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.69%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley's payout ratio is 56.32%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on MS shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price 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. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $102.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Barclays raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $129.40.

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.