Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) is Tradewinds LLC.’s 10th Largest Position

Tradewinds LLC. grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 5.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 60,918 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,104 shares during the quarter. Morgan Stanley accounts for approximately 2.4% of Tradewinds LLC.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest holding. Tradewinds LLC.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $8,343,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MS. Peoples Bank KS acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Curio Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.20, for a total value of $1,783,811.40. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 197,444 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,891,872.80. This trade represents a 6.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of the company’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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 81,440 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,076,654.40. This represents a 17.69 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $124.00 to $129.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $135.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Barclays raised 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. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $131.53.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

MS stock opened at $116.85 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $188.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.35. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $129.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $124.11. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $85.01 and a 12-month high of $142.03.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 EPS 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.03 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.13 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 25.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st were given a dividend of $0.925 per share. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.17%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 46.60%.

Morgan Stanley Company 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.