Planned Solutions Inc. Makes New $236,000 Investment in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Planned Solutions Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 2,530 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $236,000.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. IFG Advisory LLC grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. IFG Advisory LLC now owns 19,862 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,852,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares during the last quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC now owns 43,623 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,068,000 after buying an additional 420 shares during the period. Columbia Trust Co 01012016 grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 7.4% during the fourth quarter. Columbia Trust Co 01012016 now owns 12,501 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,166,000 after purchasing an additional 857 shares during the period. Viking Fund Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 30.2% in the 4th quarter. Viking Fund Management LLC now owns 130,150 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $12,136,000 after acquiring an additional 30,150 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SignalPoint Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $200,000. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on MS shares. HSBC lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $106.00 to $107.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $109.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $91.00 price objective (down previously from $102.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $89.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 19th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $94.45.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock opened at $93.50 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $152.90 billion, a PE ratio of 18.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.43. 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 52 week low of $69.42 and a 52 week high of $95.57. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $87.13 and a 200-day moving average price of $84.09.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.06. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 9.49% and a return on equity of 10.36%. The company had revenue of $12.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.77 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.31 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 31st were paid a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.64%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 65.76%.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In related news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.13, for a total transaction of $841,300.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 323,490 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,215,213.70. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CFO Raja Akram sold 7,000 shares of the 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 97,634 shares in the company, valued at $8,158,297.04. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.13, for a total value of $841,300.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 323,490 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,215,213.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 208,155 shares of company stock worth $18,149,314. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

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.