Ellsworth Advisors LLC Purchases New Shares in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Ellsworth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm bought 2,650 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $247,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of MS. FMR LLC lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 21.2% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 23,474,452 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,917,159,000 after acquiring an additional 4,098,577 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 13,159,271 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,074,718,000 after purchasing an additional 415,531 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 13,107,965 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,070,528,000 after buying an additional 277,909 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at $956,566,000. Finally, Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 125,756.8% in the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 10,641,190 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $904,714,000 after acquiring an additional 10,632,735 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

MS stock traded up $0.66 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $94.16. The company had a trading volume of 6,624,163 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,981,474. The company has a market capitalization of $153.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $87.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $84.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $69.42 and a 12-month high of $95.57.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.06. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 10.36% and a net margin of 9.49%. The business had revenue of $12.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.77 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.31 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 31st were issued a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 65.76%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MS has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $87.00 price target (down previously from $94.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $106.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. HSBC increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $102.00 to $116.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $91.00 target price on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $94.45.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 26,655 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.19, for a total transaction of $2,324,049.45. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 286,835 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,009,143.65. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Morgan Stanley news, CFO Raja Akram sold 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.56, for a total value of $584,920.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 97,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,158,297.04. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 26,655 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.19, for a total transaction of $2,324,049.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 286,835 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,009,143.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 208,155 shares of company stock worth $18,149,314. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

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.