Congress Park Capital LLC Has $418,000 Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Congress Park Capital LLC lessened its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 9.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,325 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 350 shares during the period. Congress Park Capital LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $418,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Ritholtz Wealth Management grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 29,253 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,678,000 after purchasing an additional 991 shares in the last quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at $218,000. Mirador Capital Partners LP purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at $241,000. Mason & Associates Inc increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Mason & Associates Inc now owns 3,177 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $399,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Essex Savings Bank raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 8.4% during the fourth quarter. Essex Savings Bank now owns 3,393 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $427,000 after acquiring an additional 263 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 4.0 %

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock opened at $135.80 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $128.74 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $113.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $218.77 billion, a PE ratio of 20.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.36. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $83.09 and a 52-week high of $136.24. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.57 by $0.31. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 10.64% and a return on equity of 12.58%. The firm had revenue of $15.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.27 billion. On average, analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 7.39 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.72%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is 56.32%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on MS shares. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $108.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $102.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Barclays boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $135.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $104.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday. Eleven 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 currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $126.07.

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.