Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Increases Holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 0.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,019,694 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 47,699 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned about 0.68% of Morgan Stanley worth $1,385,396,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MS. Financial Advocates Investment Management purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley during the third quarter valued at $274,000. Stephens Inc. AR raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 6.6% during the third quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 31,849 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,320,000 after buying an additional 1,972 shares during the last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 7.9% during the third quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 6,935 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $723,000 after buying an additional 505 shares during the last quarter. Optas LLC increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 24.7% in the 3rd quarter. Optas LLC now owns 2,871 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $299,000 after purchasing an additional 568 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 5.7% in the 3rd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 317,239 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $33,069,000 after purchasing an additional 17,036 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

NYSE:MS opened at $128.88 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $133.08 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $121.57. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $84.43 and a 52-week high of $142.03. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $207.86 billion, a PE ratio of 16.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.37.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business had revenue of $16.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.13 earnings per share. Morgan Stanley’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st were issued a dividend of $0.925 per share. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.60%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on MS shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised 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. UBS Group lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $104.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $131.27.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the business’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 sale, the insider now directly owns 197,444 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,891,872.80. The trade was a 6.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.01, for a total value of $2,380,175.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 81,440 shares in the company, valued at $11,076,654.40. This represents 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 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.