Burns J W & Co. Inc. NY Has $8.74 Million Stock Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Burns J W & Co. Inc. NY lessened its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 2.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 69,537 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,566 shares during the quarter. Morgan Stanley comprises about 1.1% of Burns J W & Co. Inc. NY’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Burns J W & Co. Inc. NY’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $8,742,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Peoples Bank KS bought a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its stake 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 valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the period. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the third quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Planning Capital Management Corp boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 115.1% during the third 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 period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on MS shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Morgan Stanley from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $107.00 to $142.00 in a report on Friday, November 15th. Barclays increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $135.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $102.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $126.07.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

MS traded up $0.58 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $124.03. 5,424,712 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,796,216. The firm has a market capitalization of $199.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.35. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $83.09 and a 1-year high of $136.24. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $128.45 and its 200 day simple moving average is $112.63. 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 (NYSE:MS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 predict that Morgan Stanley will post 7.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were paid a $0.925 dividend. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 56.32%.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In other news, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.17, for a total transaction of $7,150,200.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 138,363 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,488,718.71. The trade was a 30.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.