GAM Holding AG Takes Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

GAM Holding AG purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 8,321 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,046,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Peoples Bank KS acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 138.1% in the 3rd quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 300 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 2.0 %

Shares of MS traded down $2.74 during trading on Friday, reaching $131.60. The company's stock had a trading volume of 6,701,387 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,566,525. The company has a fifty day moving average of $132.28 and a two-hundred day moving average of $119.50. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $84.43 and a twelve month high of $142.03. The company has a market cap of $212.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.37. 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 (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.68. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 14.39% and a net margin of 12.48%. The business had revenue of $16.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.03 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.13 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 25.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st were paid a dividend of $0.925 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.81%. Morgan Stanley's payout ratio is currently 46.60%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised Morgan Stanley from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $107.00 to $142.00 in a research note on Friday, November 15th. HSBC lowered Morgan Stanley from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $128.00 to $131.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $131.27.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 81,440 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,076,654.40. This represents a 17.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.20, for a total value of $1,783,811.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 197,444 shares of the company's stock, 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. 0.24% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.