Edgar Lomax Co. VA Buys 197,165 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Edgar Lomax Co. VA raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 116.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 366,710 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 197,165 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley makes up 3.0% of Edgar Lomax Co. VA's portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest position. Edgar Lomax Co. VA's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $46,103,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,910,200,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings 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 period. FMR LLC grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 11.9% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 25,561,560 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,213,599,000 after acquiring an additional 2,725,335 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $324,118,000. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 50.8% during the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 7,282,156 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $915,731,000 after purchasing an additional 2,453,470 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on MS. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $144.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $144.00 to $126.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Erste Group Bank lowered Morgan Stanley from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their target price on Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $138.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $130.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 10,068 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.65, for a total transaction of $1,124,092.20. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 199,274 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,248,942.10. The trade was a 4.81 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

MS stock traded up $1.94 on Wednesday, reaching $112.32. The company's stock had a trading volume of 9,237,163 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,661,443. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $90.55 and a 52 week high of $142.03. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $118.38 and a two-hundred day moving average of $124.48. The company has a market capitalization of $181.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.30.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $2.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.39. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 14.39%. The firm had revenue of $17.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.81 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.02 EPS. Morgan Stanley's revenue was up 17.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be given a $0.925 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.29%. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.43%.

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.