West Branch Capital LLC Boosts Stock Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

West Branch Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 300.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,295 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 972 shares during the quarter. West Branch Capital LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $163,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MS. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 474.3% during the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 21,134 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,203,000 after buying an additional 17,454 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.8% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,711,805 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $491,159,000 after acquiring an additional 36,120 shares during the period. Matrix Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at $2,040,000. Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 1,152,937 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $120,182,000 after purchasing an additional 16,350 shares during the period. Finally, Johnson & White Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at about $597,000. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock opened at $137.42 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14. The company has a market cap of $221.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.31, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.36. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $129.13 and its 200-day moving average price is $114.03. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $83.09 and a 52-week high of $138.08.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.68. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 14.39%. The business had revenue of $16.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.03 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.13 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.925 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.69%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 46.60%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MS has been the subject of several analyst reports. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $106.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $108.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $131.27.

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.