Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC Raises Stock Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 2.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,758 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the quarter. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $724,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MS. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 75.2% in 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 during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 382.4% in the 3rd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 1,597,800 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $166,555,000 after purchasing an additional 1,266,600 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth about $89,761,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 22,404,981 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,335,495,000 after purchasing an additional 590,872 shares during the period. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 71.2% in the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 1,370,572 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $140,077,000 after purchasing an additional 569,789 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.20, for a total value of $1,783,811.40. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 197,444 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,891,872.80. This trade represents a 6.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.01, for a total value of $2,380,175.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Trading Down 0.8 %

MS opened at $139.88 on Friday. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $83.09 and a 52 week high of $142.03. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $130.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $117.00. The firm has a market cap of $225.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.62, a P/E/G ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.37. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.68. The business had revenue of $16.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.03 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 14.39% and a net margin of 12.48%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 25.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.13 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be paid a $0.925 dividend. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is currently 46.60%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on MS shares. Hsbc Global Res cut Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. 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 report on Friday, January 17th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $104.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.