Empirical Asset Management LLC Makes New Investment in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Empirical Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 11,142 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,401,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,748 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $346,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Cardinal Point Capital Management ULC grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Cardinal Point Capital Management ULC now owns 2,697 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $339,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the period. Mason & Associates Inc increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Mason & Associates Inc now owns 3,177 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $399,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New Hampshire lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New Hampshire now owns 6,313 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $794,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the period. Finally, Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 2.6% during the third quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 3,748 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $391,000 after buying an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MS has been the subject of several research reports. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company raised Morgan Stanley from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $107.00 to $142.00 in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $146.00 to $153.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of Morgan Stanley from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $106.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $129.40.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of MS traded up $1.97 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $137.78. The company had a trading volume of 12,389,736 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,932,170. The stock has a market cap of $221.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.97, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.36. The company's 50 day moving average price is $129.05 and its 200 day moving average price is $113.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current 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.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.57 by $0.31. The business had revenue of $15.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.27 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 12.58% and a net margin of 10.64%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 7.39 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

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

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.