Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Shares Acquired by Merit Financial Group LLC

Merit Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 78.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,158 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 6,204 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $1,780,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Boston Common Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 20.8% in the fourth quarter. Boston Common Asset Management LLC now owns 142,387 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $17,901,000 after purchasing an additional 24,554 shares during the period. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 15.9% in the fourth quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 3,035 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $382,000 after purchasing an additional 416 shares during the period. Avanza Fonder AB purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at about $11,751,000. Everpar Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 8.7% in the fourth quarter. Everpar Advisors LLC now owns 3,027 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $381,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the period. Finally, Goldstone Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 26.4% in the fourth quarter. Goldstone Financial Group LLC now owns 5,896 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $741,000 after purchasing an additional 1,232 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 1.5 %

MS stock opened at $137.78 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $129.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $113.77. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $83.09 and a 12 month high of $138.08. The company has a market cap of $221.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.68. The company had revenue of $16.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.03 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 10.64% and a return on equity of 12.58%. Morgan Stanley’s revenue was up 25.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.13 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 7.39 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.925 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.69%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.32%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $146.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $108.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $102.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $104.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $129.40.

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.