Caprock Group LLC Buys New Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Caprock Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 47,921 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $6,025,000.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 197,444 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,891,872.80. This trade represents a 6.22 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were 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 directly owns 81,440 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,076,654.40. This trade represents a 17.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $138.35 on Friday. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $83.09 and a 52 week high of $141.48. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $129.90 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $115.84. The stock has a market cap of $222.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.36. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.68. The business had revenue of $16.23 billion for 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%. Morgan Stanley’s quarterly revenue was up 25.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.13 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.52 earnings per share 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 given a dividend of $0.925 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.67%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is currently 46.60%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Barclays raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $106.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded 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 report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $131.27.

Morgan Stanley Company 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.