J2 Capital Management Inc Invests $522,000 in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

J2 Capital Management Inc purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 4,150 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $522,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MS. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,748 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $346,000 after buying an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Cardinal Point Capital Management ULC lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Cardinal Point Capital Management ULC now owns 2,697 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $339,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Mason & Associates Inc boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Mason & Associates Inc now owns 3,177 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $399,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New Hampshire grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New Hampshire now owns 6,313 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $794,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.6% in the third quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 3,748 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $391,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of MS traded up $1.97 on Friday, hitting $137.78. 12,389,736 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,932,170. The company has a market capitalization of $221.97 billion, a PE ratio of 20.97, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.36. 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 $83.09 and a one year high of $138.08. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $129.05 and a 200 day simple moving average of $113.67.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.57 by $0.31. The business had revenue of $15.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.27 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 10.64% and a return on equity of 12.58%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 7.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be issued a $0.925 dividend. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio is 56.32%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on MS shares. Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday. HSBC lowered shares of Morgan Stanley from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $128.00 to $131.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $106.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $102.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $129.40.

About Morgan Stanley

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.