CWA Asset Management Group LLC Acquires 346 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

CWA Asset Management Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 7.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,244 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 346 shares during the period. CWA Asset Management Group LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $659,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 138.1% in the 3rd 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 during the period. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the third quarter valued at about $36,000. Planning Capital Management Corp boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 115.1% during the third quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 357 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares during the period. Finally, DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 385.2% in the third quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 393 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 312 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $108.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Bank of America increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $140.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Hsbc Global Res lowered Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Morgan Stanley from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $107.00 to $142.00 in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $125.80.

Insider Activity 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 transaction of $7,150,200.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 138,363 shares in the company, valued at $16,488,718.71. This trade represents a 30.25 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 0.7 %

MS opened at $127.83 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $128.09 and its 200 day simple moving average is $112.13. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $83.09 and a 52 week high of $136.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14. The stock has a market cap of $205.94 billion, a PE ratio of 19.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.36.

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

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were paid a $0.925 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.89%. 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.