Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. Acquires 3,160 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 35.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 12,067 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 3,160 shares during the quarter. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc.'s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $1,517,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 115.9% during the 2nd quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 17,619 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,713,000 after purchasing an additional 9,459 shares during the last quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 26.7% in the second quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 14,790 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,437,000 after buying an additional 3,116 shares during the period. AE Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 44.9% during the second quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,242 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,093,000 after acquiring an additional 3,484 shares during the last quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 13.0% in the second quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 271,628 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $26,429,000 after acquiring an additional 31,200 shares during the period. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 4.5% in the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 89,062 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $8,656,000 after acquiring an additional 3,874 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on MS shares. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $107.00 to $142.00 in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday. Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of Morgan Stanley from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $129.40.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MS traded up $1.97 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $137.78. The company had a trading volume of 12,389,736 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,932,170. The stock has a market cap of $221.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.97, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.36. The company's 50 day moving average price is $129.05 and its 200 day moving average price is $113.67. 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 52-week low of $83.09 and a 52-week high of $138.08.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.57 by $0.31. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 10.64% and a return on equity of 12.58%. The business had revenue of $15.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.27 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 7.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be paid a $0.925 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.69%. Morgan Stanley's 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.