AM Investment Strategies LLC Has $2.62 Million Holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

AM Investment Strategies LLC grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 0.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 20,818 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 126 shares during the quarter. Morgan Stanley makes up 0.6% of AM Investment Strategies LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest position. AM Investment Strategies LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $2,617,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 474.3% during the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 21,134 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,203,000 after purchasing an additional 17,454 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,711,805 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $491,159,000 after acquiring an additional 36,120 shares during the last quarter. Matrix Trust Co acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at $2,040,000. Natixis Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.4% in the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 1,152,937 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $120,182,000 after acquiring an additional 16,350 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Johnson & White Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $597,000. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 0.0 %

Shares of MS opened at $137.85 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $222.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. The business has a 50-day moving average of $129.40 and a 200 day moving average of $114.61. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $83.09 and a fifty-two week high of $139.04.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.68. The company had revenue of $16.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.03 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 14.39% and a net margin of 12.48%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.13 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.49 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be issued a $0.925 dividend. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 46.60%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MS. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. HSBC downgraded Morgan Stanley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $128.00 to $131.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $107.00 to $142.00 in a research report on Friday, November 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $106.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $108.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $131.27.

Insider Activity

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.20, for a total value of $1,783,811.40. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 197,444 shares in the company, valued at $26,891,872.80. This represents a 6.22 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief financial officer now 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.