Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Shares Purchased by Trilogy Capital Inc.

Trilogy Capital Inc. boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 367.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,452 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 16,079 shares during the period. Trilogy Capital Inc.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $2,571,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MS. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 25,240,729 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,621,140,000 after purchasing an additional 269,633 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.7% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 22,404,981 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,335,495,000 after acquiring an additional 590,872 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 8,454,177 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $881,263,000 after acquiring an additional 385,780 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 75.2% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,850,848 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $881,493,000 after purchasing an additional 3,369,520 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,711,805 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $491,159,000 after purchasing an additional 36,120 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE:MS opened at $138.97 on Thursday. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $83.09 and a 52-week high of $141.48. 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 50 day moving average price of $130.16 and a 200-day moving average price of $116.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $223.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.37.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.68. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 14.39% and a net margin of 12.48%. The company had revenue of $16.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.03 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.13 earnings per share. Morgan Stanley’s quarterly revenue was up 25.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be given a dividend of $0.925 per share. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.66%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 46.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.20, for a total value of $1,783,811.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 197,444 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,891,872.80. The trade was a 6.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, 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. 0.24% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Hsbc Global Res lowered Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $107.00 to $142.00 in a research report on Friday, November 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $104.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, HSBC cut Morgan Stanley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $128.00 to $131.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $131.27.

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.