PKS Advisory Services LLC Takes $205,000 Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

PKS Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 1,631 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $205,000.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 0.8% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,711,805 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $491,159,000 after acquiring an additional 36,120 shares in the last quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 18.3% in the 3rd quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,616 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $690,000 after purchasing an additional 1,025 shares during the last quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 3rd quarter worth about $220,000. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 62.1% during the 3rd quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 54,496 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,681,000 after purchasing an additional 20,871 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 7,476 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $779,000 after purchasing an additional 273 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 197,444 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,891,872.80. This represents a 6.22 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 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. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on MS. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Citigroup reduced their target price on Morgan Stanley from $135.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Barclays upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $146.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $132.33.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

NYSE:MS opened at $122.17 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $130.39 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $123.50. 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 $85.01 and a 52-week high of $142.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $197.05 billion, a PE ratio of 15.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.35.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued 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. The business had revenue of $16.23 billion for 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%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.13 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st were given a dividend of $0.925 per share. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.03%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.