Level Four Advisory Services LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Level Four Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 3.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 113,370 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 4,007 shares during the quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $14,253,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MS. Norges Bank bought a new position in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth about $1,910,200,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 75.2% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,850,848 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $881,493,000 after buying an additional 3,369,520 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at $324,118,000. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 111.7% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,331,960 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $293,174,000 after acquiring an additional 1,230,623 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 26,142.5% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,055,210 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $132,661,000 after purchasing an additional 1,051,189 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company's stock.

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Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.20, for a total value 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 trade represents a 6.22 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 81,440 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,076,654.40. This trade represents a 17.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $144.00 to $126.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of Morgan Stanley from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price 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. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $146.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Twelve 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, Morgan Stanley currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $131.53.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of MS traded up $1.52 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $116.85. The stock had a trading volume of 4,755,920 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,532,292. The company has a market capitalization of $188.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.35. 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 12-month low of $85.01 and a 12-month high of $142.03. The company's 50-day moving average is $129.61 and its 200 day moving average is $123.97.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.68. The business had revenue of $16.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.03 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 14.39%. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.13 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 25.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st were paid a $0.925 dividend. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio 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.