Ballentine Partners LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 4.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 52,849 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,094 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $6,644,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Peoples Bank KS bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 138.1% in the 3rd quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Planning Capital Management Corp raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 115.1% during the 3rd quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 357 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on MS. Wells Fargo & Company raised Morgan Stanley from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $107.00 to $142.00 in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Bank of America increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $146.00 to $153.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Barclays upped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, 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. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $129.40.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of MS stock opened at $137.78 on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $83.09 and a 12-month high of $138.08. The company has a market capitalization of $221.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.97, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14. The business’s 50 day moving average is $129.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $113.77.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted 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 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 10.64% and a return on equity of 12.58%. The company’s revenue was up 25.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.13 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 7.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be issued a $0.925 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.69%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is currently 56.32%.

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.