WASHINGTON TRUST Co Boosts Stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

WASHINGTON TRUST Co increased its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 6.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 11,736 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 761 shares during the period. WASHINGTON TRUST Co’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $1,094,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MS. NBW Capital LLC raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 4.2% during the 2nd quarter. NBW Capital LLC now owns 3,025 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $258,000 after acquiring an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. M&R Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 6.7% during the 4th quarter. M&R Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,020 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $188,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. Summit Global Investments raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 2,692 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $220,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. Platte River Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Platte River Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,995 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $326,000 after acquiring an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Corton Capital Inc. raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Corton Capital Inc. now owns 6,629 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $541,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

MS stock traded up $0.66 during trading on Thursday, hitting $94.16. 2,431,158 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,908,796. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $69.42 and a one year high of $95.57. The stock has a market cap of $153.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $87.13 and a 200 day simple moving average of $84.09. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.06. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 9.49% and a return on equity of 10.36%. The company had revenue of $12.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.77 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.31 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 6.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 31st were paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.61%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.76%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Raja Akram sold 7,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.56, for a total transaction of $584,920.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 97,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,158,297.04. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, CFO Raja Akram sold 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.56, for a total value of $584,920.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 97,634 shares in the company, valued at $8,158,297.04. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.30, for a total transaction of $8,730,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 350,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,555,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 208,155 shares of company stock valued at $18,149,314 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on MS. HSBC boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a “market perform” rating and set a $91.00 price objective (down from $102.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $109.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $102.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $91.00 price target on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Wednesday. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $94.45.

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.