Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Position Reduced by Godsey & Gibb Inc.

Godsey & Gibb Inc. reduced its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 10.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,750 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 214 shares during the quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $220,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 49.5% during the fourth quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 1,709 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $215,000 after acquiring an additional 566 shares during the period. Rockingstone Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at about $216,000. Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 22.4% during the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 29,300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,684,000 after purchasing an additional 5,368 shares in the last quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 19.4% in the 4th quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 2,784 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $350,000 after purchasing an additional 452 shares during the last quarter. Finally, San Luis Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 6.4% in the 4th quarter. San Luis Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,990 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $879,000 after purchasing an additional 419 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on MS shares. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $140.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on 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 raised Morgan Stanley from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $107.00 to $142.00 in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Hsbc Global Res lowered Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $104.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $126.07.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 5.2 %

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $131.08 on Thursday. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $83.09 and a twelve month high of $136.24. 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 cap of $211.17 billion, a PE ratio of 19.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.36. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $128.74 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $113.02.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $14.27 billion. On average, research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 7.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.