Pacer Advisors Inc. Raises Stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 42.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 132,511 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 39,594 shares during the quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $16,659,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MS. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC now owns 3,804 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $478,000 after buying an additional 99 shares during the period. KBC Group NV increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 78.2% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 778,930 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $97,927,000 after purchasing an additional 341,894 shares during the period. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,975,000. Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC now owns 22,599 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,846,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 14.9% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 17,383 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,185,000 after purchasing an additional 2,249 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MS has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $104.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Hsbc Global Res downgraded Morgan Stanley from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Morgan Stanley from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $107.00 to $142.00 in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Barclays lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $108.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $131.27.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred 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 approximately $26,891,872.80. The trade was a 6.22 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were 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 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. Insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 0.2 %

NYSE:MS traded up $0.23 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $138.77. 5,718,779 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,772,242. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14. The company has a market cap of $223.56 billion, a PE ratio of 17.48, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.36. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $129.66 and its 200-day simple moving average is $115.51. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $83.09 and a one year high of $141.48.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $16.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.03 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.13 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 25.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.925 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.67%. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.60%.

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.