Meridian Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 35.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 17,777 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 4,619 shares during the period. Meridian Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $2,235,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Peoples Bank KS purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 138.1% during the third quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 300 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 3rd quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Planning Capital Management Corp boosted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 191 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
MS traded down $7.82 on Tuesday, hitting $121.32. The company had a trading volume of 12,994,297 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,351,550. The stock has a market capitalization of $195.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.28, a P/E/G 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. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $133.08 and a 200-day moving average price of $121.57. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $84.43 and a 12-month high of $142.03.
Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.68. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 14.39%. The firm had revenue of $16.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.13 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 25.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.
The firm 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 3.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley's payout ratio is presently 46.60%.
In other Morgan Stanley news, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $11,076,654.40. This represents a 17.69 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.20, for a total transaction of $1,783,811.40. Following the sale, the insider now owns 197,444 shares of the company's stock, valued at $26,891,872.80. The trade was a 6.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.
MS has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Morgan Stanley from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $107.00 to $142.00 in a research report on Friday, November 15th. UBS Group increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $146.00 to $153.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" 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 company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $131.27.
Check Out Our Latest Report on 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.
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