Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Shares Purchased by Mosley Wealth Management

Mosley Wealth Management grew its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 113.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 11,291 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 6,009 shares during the quarter. Morgan Stanley comprises 1.0% of Mosley Wealth Management's holdings, making the stock its 26th largest position. Mosley Wealth Management's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $1,566,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MS. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 25,240,729 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,621,140,000 after acquiring an additional 269,633 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 22,833,937 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,870,683,000 after buying an additional 428,956 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,019,694 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,385,396,000 after buying an additional 47,699 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 4.8% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 8,454,177 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $881,263,000 after buying an additional 385,780 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of 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 worth $881,493,000 after acquiring an additional 3,369,520 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MS has been the topic of several recent research reports. UBS Group boosted their price target 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. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $135.00 to $125.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $144.00 to $126.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $146.00 to $153.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $132.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at $11,076,654.40. This represents a 17.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.20, for a total value of $1,783,811.40. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 197,444 shares of the company's stock, valued at $26,891,872.80. This trade represents a 6.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 2.5 %

Shares of NYSE MS traded down $3.03 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $119.17. The company's stock had a trading volume of 8,239,412 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,233,594. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $192.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.35. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $130.06 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $123.47. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $85.01 and a 1 year high of $142.03.

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 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.13 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 25.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st were paid 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 3.10%. Morgan Stanley's payout ratio is 46.60%.

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.