Brasada Capital Management LP Boosts Stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Brasada Capital Management LP increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 5.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 32,605 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,797 shares during the period. Brasada Capital Management LP’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $4,043,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 0.8% in the third 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. Morse Asset Management Inc grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 7.1% in the 3rd quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc now owns 4,424 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $461,000 after acquiring an additional 295 shares during the last quarter. Sculati Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Sculati Wealth Management LLC now owns 35,013 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,650,000 after acquiring an additional 655 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 45.0% during the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 15,063 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,570,000 after acquiring an additional 4,674 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 17,454 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 10,068 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.65, for a total transaction of $1,124,092.20. Following the sale, the insider now owns 199,274 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,248,942.10. The trade was a 4.81 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on MS. Bank of America cut their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $144.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $144.00 to $126.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $120.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $130.50.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $110.35 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $118.38 and its 200-day moving average is $124.48. The company has a market cap of $177.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.30. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $90.55 and a 12 month high of $142.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $2.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.39. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 14.39%. The business had revenue of $17.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.81 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.02 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 17.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be given a $0.925 dividend. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.35%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 43.43%.

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.