Smith Salley Wealth Management Increases Stock Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Smith Salley Wealth Management lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 1.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 20,939 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 239 shares during the quarter. Smith Salley Wealth Management’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $2,632,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 75.2% in the third 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 grew its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 1,266,600 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $89,761,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 2.7% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 22,404,981 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,335,495,000 after buying an additional 590,872 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 71.2% in the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 1,370,572 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $140,077,000 after acquiring an additional 569,789 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on MS shares. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 25th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $102.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Bank of America upped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $146.00 to $153.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, HSBC lowered Morgan Stanley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $128.00 to $131.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $129.40.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 1.5 %

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $137.78 on Friday. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $83.09 and a 12-month high of $138.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $221.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.97, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.36. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $129.05 and a 200 day moving average of $113.58. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.57 by $0.31. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 10.64% and a return on equity of 12.58%. The firm had revenue of $15.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.27 billion. As a group, research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 7.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 56.32%.

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.