Westpac Banking Corp Purchases 19,185 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Westpac Banking Corp grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 103.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 37,709 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 19,185 shares during the period. Westpac Banking Corp's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $4,741,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Peoples Bank KS purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Curio Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 197,444 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $26,891,872.80. This trade represents a 6.22 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 81,440 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,076,654.40. The trade was a 17.69 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of MS traded down $8.18 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $99.75. The company's stock had a trading volume of 18,867,354 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,660,242. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $85.01 and a one year high of $142.03. The stock's 50-day moving average is $127.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $124.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $160.88 billion, a PE ratio of 12.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.30. 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 (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.68. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 14.39%. The company had revenue of $16.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.13 EPS. The business's revenue was up 25.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st were given a $0.925 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.71%. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio is currently 46.60%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MS has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Barclays raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $142.00 to $130.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 28th. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $138.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $144.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $144.00 to $126.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $129.87.

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.