Forsta AP Fonden Acquires 23,300 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Forsta AP Fonden increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 8.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 313,163 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 23,300 shares during the quarter. Forsta AP Fonden's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $39,371,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Peoples Bank KS bought a new position in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 138.1% in the third quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 300 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in Morgan Stanley in the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Planning Capital Management Corp boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 115.1% in the third quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 357 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MS has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. UBS Group upped their price objective 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased 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. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, HSBC lowered shares of Morgan Stanley from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $128.00 to $131.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $131.27.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.01, for a total transaction of $2,380,175.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 81,440 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,076,654.40. This trade represents a 17.69 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the firm's 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 sale, the insider now owns 197,444 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,891,872.80. The trade was a 6.22 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

MS traded up $0.23 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $138.77. 5,718,779 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,772,242. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $223.56 billion, a PE ratio of 17.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.36. The company's 50-day moving average is $129.66 and its 200 day moving average is $115.51. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $83.09 and a 52 week high of $141.48.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.68. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 14.39%. The business had revenue of $16.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.03 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.13 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 25.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.49 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be paid a $0.925 dividend. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.67%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.60%.

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.