Aries Wealth Management Acquires New Stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Aries Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 1,708 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $215,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MS. Peoples Bank KS acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 138.1% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 0.1 %

MS stock opened at $136.96 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $220.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $131.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $118.07. 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 has a 12 month low of $83.69 and a 12 month high of $142.03.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.03 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.13 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 25.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.70%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 46.60%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $146.00 to $153.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Barclays lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $104.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $108.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target 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. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $131.27.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other news, 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 trade represents a 17.69 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.20, for a total transaction of $1,783,811.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 197,444 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,891,872.80. The trade was a 6.22 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

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.