Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC Boosts Holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 2.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 22,731 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 545 shares during the period. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $2,858,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 75.2% during the third 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. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 382.4% in the third quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 1,597,800 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $166,555,000 after acquiring an additional 1,266,600 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth about $89,761,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.7% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 22,404,981 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,335,495,000 after purchasing an additional 590,872 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 71.2% in the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 1,370,572 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $140,077,000 after purchasing an additional 569,789 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $124.66 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $128.74 and its 200 day simple moving average is $113.02. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $83.09 and a 52 week high of $136.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $200.83 billion, a PE ratio of 18.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.36.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.57 by $0.31. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 12.58% and a net margin of 10.64%. The company had revenue of $15.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.27 billion. On average, equities research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 7.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on MS. Barclays lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $135.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Morgan Stanley from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $107.00 to $142.00 in a report on Friday, November 15th. UBS Group raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $102.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $104.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $126.07.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.17, for a total transaction of $7,150,200.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 138,363 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,488,718.71. This represents a 30.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.