Ritholtz Wealth Management Raises Stock Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Ritholtz Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 3.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 29,253 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 991 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $3,678,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Carnegie Investment Counsel acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $218,000. Mirador Capital Partners LP acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $241,000. Mason & Associates Inc boosted its holdings 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 valued at $399,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the period. Essex Savings Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 8.4% in the fourth quarter. Essex Savings Bank now owns 3,393 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $427,000 after acquiring an additional 263 shares during the period. Finally, USA Financial Formulas acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,195,000. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 4.0 %

Shares of MS stock opened at $135.80 on Friday. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $83.09 and a fifty-two week high of $136.24. The stock has a market cap of $218.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.67, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.36. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $128.74 and a 200-day simple moving average of $113.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.57 by $0.31. The business had revenue of $15.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.27 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 12.58% and a net margin of 10.64%. On average, analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 7.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be paid a $0.925 dividend. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.72%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 56.32%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MS. Citigroup increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 25th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $102.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $108.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. HSBC downgraded Morgan Stanley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $128.00 to $131.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $126.07.

Morgan Stanley 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.