LexAurum Advisors LLC Has $910,000 Stock Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

LexAurum Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 8.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,239 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 572 shares during the period. LexAurum Advisors LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $910,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MS. Peoples Bank KS bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 138.1% during the third quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Planning Capital Management Corp raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 115.1% in the 3rd quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 357 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MS opened at $137.51 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $83.09 and a 52 week high of $138.38. The firm has a market cap of $221.54 billion, a PE ratio of 17.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.36. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $129.30 and its 200-day moving average is $114.45.

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

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.925 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.69%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 46.60%.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 81,440 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,076,654.40. The trade was a 17.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 197,444 shares in the company, valued at $26,891,872.80. The trade was a 6.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MS has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $107.00 to $142.00 in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Morgan Stanley from $108.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $106.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Bank of America raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $146.00 to $153.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “market perform” 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. According to data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $131.27.

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.