Symphony Financial Ltd. Co. Purchases 3,193 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Symphony Financial Ltd. Co. raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 51.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 9,440 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,193 shares during the period. Symphony Financial Ltd. Co.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $1,285,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 15.1% in the fourth quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 7,979 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,020,000 after purchasing an additional 1,044 shares in the last quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC now owns 7,669 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $964,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at $43,000. Caprock Group LLC purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth $6,025,000. Finally, Kennebec Savings Bank grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank now owns 2,908 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $361,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

NYSE:MS opened at $138.35 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $129.97 and its 200 day moving average is $116.07. The firm has a market cap of $222.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.42, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.36. 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 $141.48.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $16.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.03 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.13 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 25.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.52 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

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 $0.925 dividend. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 46.60%.

Insider Activity

In other news, 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 owns 81,440 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,076,654.40. This trade represents a 17.69 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the insider now owns 197,444 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,891,872.80. This trade represents a 6.22 % 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.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 25th. HSBC lowered Morgan Stanley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their target price for the company from $128.00 to $131.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $104.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised 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. Finally, Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley currently 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.