Lee Danner & Bass Inc. Has $832,000 Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Lee Danner & Bass Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 2.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,616 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the quarter. Lee Danner & Bass Inc.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $832,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MS. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 75.2% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth about $324,118,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 382.4% during 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 purchasing an additional 1,266,600 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 26,142.5% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,055,210 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $132,661,000 after purchasing an additional 1,051,189 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at about $89,761,000. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of MS stock opened at $120.26 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $130.55 and a 200-day moving average of $122.81. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $85.01 and a 12-month high of $142.03. The firm has a market cap of $193.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.15, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.35.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.68. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 14.39%. The company had revenue of $16.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.13 EPS. Morgan Stanley’s quarterly revenue was up 25.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st were paid a $0.925 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.08%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is 46.60%.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In related news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.20, for a total value of $1,783,811.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 197,444 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,891,872.80. The trade was a 6.22 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.01, for a total transaction of $2,380,175.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 81,440 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,076,654.40. This represents a 17.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on MS shares. Erste Group Bank cut shares of Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. HSBC cut shares of Morgan Stanley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their price target for the company from $128.00 to $131.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $104.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $146.00 to $153.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $131.60.

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.