Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Shares Bought by Flaharty Asset Management LLC

Flaharty Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 598.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,802 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,544 shares during the period. Flaharty Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $227,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MS. Peoples Bank KS acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Planning Capital Management Corp grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 115.1% during the 3rd quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 357 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.20, for a total transaction of $1,783,811.40. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 197,444 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,891,872.80. This trade represents a 6.22 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was 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 directly 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. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on MS. Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $104.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 25th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $107.00 to $142.00 in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $131.27.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 3.0 %

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock opened at $133.11 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $214.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.76, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.37. 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 one year low of $84.43 and a one year high of $142.03. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $132.99 and a two-hundred day moving average of $121.05.

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

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st were paid a dividend of $0.925 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.78%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.60%.

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.