Grunden Financial Advisory Inc. Takes Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Grunden Financial Advisory Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 1,740 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $219,000. Morgan Stanley makes up approximately 0.1% of Grunden Financial Advisory Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 26th largest holding.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MS. Peoples Bank KS acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 138.1% in the third 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 purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Planning Capital Management Corp raised its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 0.8 %

NYSE:MS opened at $137.26 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $221.13 billion, a PE ratio of 17.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.36. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $129.97 and a 200-day moving average of $116.20. 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 $141.48.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.68. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 14.39% and a net margin of 12.48%. The company had revenue of $16.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.13 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.52 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be paid a $0.925 dividend. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.60%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 197,444 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,891,872.80. This trade represents a 6.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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. The trade was a 17.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MS has been the topic of several recent research reports. Citigroup raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $106.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $107.00 to $142.00 in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $108.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $146.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $131.27.

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.