Empowered Funds LLC Purchases 11,249 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 17.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 77,156 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 11,249 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $9,700,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Peoples Bank KS acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 138.1% in the third 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 last quarter. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In related news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider now owns 197,444 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $26,891,872.80. This trade represents a 6.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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 value of $2,380,175.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 81,440 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,076,654.40. The trade was a 17.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

NYSE MS traded down $2.81 during trading on Monday, hitting $137.17. 5,515,930 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,951,820. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $220.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.28, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.37. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $83.09 and a 12-month high of $142.03. The business has a 50 day moving average of $130.67 and a 200-day moving average of $117.46.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.68. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 14.39%. The company had revenue of $16.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.03 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.13 EPS. Morgan Stanley's revenue was up 25.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

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 $0.925 dividend. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.70%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.60%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on MS shares. UBS Group raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Morgan Stanley from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and raised their price target for the company from $107.00 to $142.00 in a research report on Friday, November 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $104.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $146.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, HSBC lowered Morgan Stanley from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and upped their target price for the company from $128.00 to $131.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley 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.