Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC Raises Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 42.7% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 2,750 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 823 shares during the period. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $346,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Peoples Bank KS bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 138.1% during the 3rd quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares during the period. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the third quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Planning Capital Management Corp increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 115.1% in the third quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 357 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $131.60 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $84.43 and a twelve month high of $142.03. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $132.37 and its 200-day moving average price is $119.77. The company has a market cap of $212.02 billion, a PE ratio of 16.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.37.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.68. The business had revenue of $16.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.03 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 14.39% and a net margin of 12.48%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 25.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.13 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st were paid a dividend of $0.925 per share. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.81%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 46.60%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. HSBC downgraded Morgan Stanley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $128.00 to $131.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Citigroup boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $104.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $131.27.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at $26,891,872.80. The trade was a 6.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.01, for a total value of $2,380,175.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 81,440 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,076,654.40. This represents a 17.69 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

About Morgan Stanley

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.