GeoWealth Management LLC Acquires 5,269 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

GeoWealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 75.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 12,253 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 5,269 shares during the quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $1,540,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $120.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Erste Group Bank lowered Morgan Stanley from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $130.50.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

MS traded up $3.02 on Thursday, hitting $115.33. 3,008,966 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,649,031. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $117.84 and its 200-day simple moving average is $124.39. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $90.55 and a one year high of $142.03. The firm has a market cap of $186.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.30.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $2.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.39. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 14.39%. The firm had revenue of $17.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.81 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.02 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 17.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.925 per share. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.21%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.43%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 10,068 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.65, for a total transaction of $1,124,092.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 199,274 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,248,942.10. This represents a 4.81 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.

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.