Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Buys 2,215 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 3.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 60,148 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 2,215 shares during the quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $7,562,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Peoples Bank KS purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 138.1% in the 3rd quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 300 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Planning Capital Management Corp increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 115.1% in the 3rd quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 357 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at about $43,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In related news, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of the firm'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. This trade represents a 17.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.20, for a total transaction 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on MS. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, November 25th. Hsbc Global Res cut shares of Morgan Stanley from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Morgan Stanley from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and increased their target price for the company from $107.00 to $142.00 in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Eleven investment 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, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $131.27.

Remove Ads

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 1.7 %

NYSE:MS opened at $113.99 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $183.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.36, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.35. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $85.01 and a 1-year high of $142.03. The company's fifty day moving average price is $131.77 and its 200-day moving average price is $122.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.68. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 14.39%. The firm had revenue of $16.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.03 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.13 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 25.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st were issued a dividend of $0.925 per share. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.25%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley's payout ratio is 46.60%.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.