Nisa Investment Advisors LLC Has $74.22 Million Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 8.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 590,347 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 45,201 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $74,218,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MS. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 474.3% in the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 21,134 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,203,000 after buying an additional 17,454 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,711,805 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $491,159,000 after purchasing an additional 36,120 shares during the last quarter. Matrix Trust Co acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth about $2,040,000. Natixis Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 1.4% in the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 1,152,937 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $120,182,000 after purchasing an additional 16,350 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Johnson & White Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at $597,000. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of MS stock opened at $137.42 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $221.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.36. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $83.09 and a 1-year high of $138.08. 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 stock’s fifty day moving average price is $129.13 and its 200 day moving average price is $114.03.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.68. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 14.39% and a net margin of 12.48%. The company had revenue of $16.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.03 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.13 earnings per share. Morgan Stanley’s quarterly revenue was up 25.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be given 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 46.60%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised Morgan Stanley from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $107.00 to $142.00 in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price 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 raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Hsbc Global Res cut shares of Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $146.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $131.27.

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.