Atomi Financial Group Inc. Acquires 2,327 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Atomi Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 18.0% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 15,220 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,327 shares during the quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $1,913,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MS. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 474.3% in the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 21,134 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,203,000 after buying an additional 17,454 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position 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. Matrix Trust Co bought a new position in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at $2,040,000. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 1.4% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 1,152,937 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $120,182,000 after purchasing an additional 16,350 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Johnson & White Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at about $597,000. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of MS stock opened at $137.42 on Wednesday. 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 fifty-two week low of $83.09 and a fifty-two week high of $138.08. The firm has a market cap of $221.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.36. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $129.13 and its 200-day moving average price is $114.03.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released 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 net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 14.39%. The business had revenue of $16.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.13 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. HSBC lowered Morgan Stanley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $128.00 to $131.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. 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 report on Monday, November 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price 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. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $131.27.

Morgan Stanley 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.