Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Shares Purchased by Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC

Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 165.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 12,027 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 7,492 shares during the quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $1,512,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Smith Salley Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Smith Salley Wealth Management now owns 20,939 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,632,000 after buying an additional 239 shares during the last quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 8.9% during the 4th quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 8,259 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,038,000 after acquiring an additional 673 shares during the period. Krilogy Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 8.8% in the 4th quarter. Krilogy Financial LLC now owns 15,170 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,907,000 after purchasing an additional 1,224 shares during the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $371,000. Finally, Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 35.5% during the fourth quarter. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. now owns 12,067 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,517,000 after purchasing an additional 3,160 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $106.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $108.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $104.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Eleven research 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, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $129.40.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 1.5 %

Morgan Stanley stock traded up $1.97 during trading on Friday, hitting $137.78. The company's stock had a trading volume of 12,389,736 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,932,170. The stock's fifty day moving average is $129.05 and its 200 day moving average is $113.67. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $83.09 and a 1-year high of $138.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $221.97 billion, a price-to-earnings 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 (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.57 by $0.31. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 10.64% and a return on equity of 12.58%. The company had revenue of $15.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.27 billion. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 7.39 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.925 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.69%. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio is presently 56.32%.

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.