Geode Capital Management LLC Buys 604,024 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 2.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 25,844,753 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 604,024 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC owned 1.60% of Morgan Stanley worth $3,240,089,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Peoples Bank KS purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Curio Wealth LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

NYSE:MS traded down $11.57 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $107.70. The stock had a trading volume of 15,179,480 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,592,060. The stock has a market capitalization of $173.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.35. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $128.42 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $124.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $85.01 and a one year high of $142.03.

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Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $16.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.03 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.13 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 25.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st were given a dividend of $0.925 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.44%. Morgan Stanley's payout ratio is 46.60%.

Insider Activity

In other 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 value of $2,380,175.00. Following the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at $26,891,872.80. This represents a 6.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on MS. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $138.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $129.00 to $125.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Morgan Stanley from $142.00 to $130.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 28th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $129.87.

Morgan Stanley Company 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.