Matrix Trust Co Takes $2.04 Million Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Matrix Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 16,228 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,040,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MS. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 4.1% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,512,442 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $244,184,000 after acquiring an additional 99,480 shares during the last quarter. Lyell Wealth Management LP increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 8.6% in the second quarter. Lyell Wealth Management LP now owns 91,524 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,895,000 after buying an additional 7,270 shares during the period. Seven Mile Advisory increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 12.2% in the second quarter. Seven Mile Advisory now owns 2,886 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $280,000 after buying an additional 313 shares during the period. Element Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the second quarter valued at $10,696,000. Finally, Plato Investment Management Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 491.2% during the second quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 28,285 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,749,000 after purchasing an additional 23,501 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 3.5 %

MS opened at $123.41 on Monday. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $83.09 and a fifty-two week high of $136.24. The business has a 50-day moving average of $128.45 and a 200-day moving average of $112.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The company has a market capitalization of $198.82 billion, a PE ratio of 18.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.35.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.57 by $0.31. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 12.58% and a net margin of 10.64%. The company had revenue of $15.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.27 billion. Equities research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 7.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were paid a dividend of $0.925 per share. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.32%.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In related news, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.17, for a total value of $7,150,200.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 138,363 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,488,718.71. This trade represents a 30.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MS has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $108.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Hsbc Global Res lowered Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. HSBC lowered Morgan Stanley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their price target for the company from $128.00 to $131.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $140.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $125.80.

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.