First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. Raises Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 14.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 27,779 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,451 shares during the quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $2,590,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of MS. Howe & Rusling Inc. increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 23.6% in the 4th quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc. now owns 91,205 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,505,000 after purchasing an additional 17,413 shares during the last quarter. Orion Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 21.7% during the fourth quarter. Orion Capital Management LLC now owns 8,544 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $797,000 after buying an additional 1,525 shares in the last quarter. Concord Wealth Partners lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 29.8% during the 4th quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 10,461 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $975,000 after buying an additional 2,404 shares during the last quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 6.9% in the 4th quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 6,186 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $577,000 after acquiring an additional 399 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 13.8% during the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 43,485 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,055,000 after acquiring an additional 5,288 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.21, for a total value of $9,021,000.00. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 414,870 shares in the company, valued at $37,425,422.70. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Morgan Stanley news, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.21, for a total transaction of $9,021,000.00. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 414,870 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,425,422.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Charles Aubrey Smith III sold 11,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.09, for a total transaction of $1,009,008.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 126,190 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,368,457.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 237,855 shares of company stock valued at $21,084,057. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of MS traded up $0.23 on Thursday, reaching $91.77. 343,099 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,496,049. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $69.42 and a 12 month high of $95.57. The firm has a market cap of $149.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.41. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $90.02 and its 200-day moving average price is $85.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.75.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.33. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 9.57% and a return on equity of 10.87%. The business had revenue of $15.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.42 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.70 earnings per share. Morgan Stanley’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 6.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be paid a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 29th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.70%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 61.93%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $91.00 price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $101.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $98.30.

Morgan Stanley 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.