Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Shares Bought by Hartline Investment Corp

Hartline Investment Corp boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 0.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 67,466 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 292 shares during the quarter. Morgan Stanley comprises 1.0% of Hartline Investment Corp’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. Hartline Investment Corp’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $8,482,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. DGS Capital Management LLC grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 4,408 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $554,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the period. Perfromance Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Perfromance Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,004 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $378,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the period. Kennebec Savings Bank grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank now owns 2,908 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $361,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the period. Brandywine Oak Private Wealth LLC grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Brandywine Oak Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,707 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $340,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the period. Finally, Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,748 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $346,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on MS shares. HSBC downgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their price target for the company from $128.00 to $131.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Morgan Stanley from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $107.00 to $142.00 in a report on Friday, November 15th. 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. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $146.00 to $153.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $131.27.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.20, for a total value 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 $26,891,872.80. This represents a 6.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly 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. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

NYSE:MS opened at $137.17 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14. The company has a market cap of $220.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.37. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $83.09 and a fifty-two week high of $142.03. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $130.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $117.46.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.68. The company had revenue of $16.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.03 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 14.39%. Morgan Stanley’s revenue was up 25.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.13 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

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

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.