Highland Capital Management LLC Has $5.33 Million Stock Holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Highland Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 12.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 42,364 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,561 shares during the period. Highland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $5,326,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. DGS Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 4,408 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $554,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Perfromance Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Perfromance Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,004 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $378,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,748 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $346,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Cardinal Point Capital Management ULC grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Cardinal Point Capital Management ULC now owns 2,697 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $339,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mason & Associates Inc grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Mason & Associates Inc now owns 3,177 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $399,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock opened at $138.77 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $129.66 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $115.51. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $83.09 and a 1 year high of $141.48. The company has a market capitalization of $223.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.13 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 25.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.49 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.925 per share. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.60%.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In related news, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.01, for a total value of $2,380,175.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 197,444 shares in the company, valued at $26,891,872.80. The trade was a 6.22 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on MS shares. HSBC cut shares of Morgan Stanley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $128.00 to $131.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $146.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock a “buy” 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Eleven research 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 an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.