Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Stake Boosted by Procyon Advisors LLC

Procyon Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 32.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,618 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,066 shares during the period. Procyon Advisors LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $1,177,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. CGC Financial Services LLC raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 5,200.0% during the fourth quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 265 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. RVW Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 77.3% in the third quarter. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc now owns 328 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares during the period. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the third quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Janiczek Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 810.8% in the third quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 337 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 0.4 %

NYSE MS traded up $0.37 on Thursday, hitting $93.87. 589,159 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,880,034. The company has a market cap of $153.50 billion, a PE ratio of 18.09, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.43. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $69.42 and a 12 month high of $95.57. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $87.13 and a 200-day moving average of $84.09. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89.

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. As a group, analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 31st were issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, January 30th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.62%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.76%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.30, for a total value of $8,730,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 350,000 shares in the company, valued at $30,555,000. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 26,655 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.19, for a total value of $2,324,049.45. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 286,835 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,009,143.65. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.30, for a total transaction of $8,730,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 350,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,555,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 208,155 shares of company stock worth $18,149,314. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $91.00 price target (down from $102.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $91.00 price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 4th. HSBC increased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $102.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Thirteen equities research 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 MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $94.45.

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.