Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Shares Sold by Advocate Group LLC

Advocate Group LLC lessened its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 4.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 80,816 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,549 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley makes up 1.9% of Advocate Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position. Advocate Group LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $10,160,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Grimes & Company Inc. acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth approximately $216,000. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC now owns 90,166 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $11,336,000 after buying an additional 303 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 40,355 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,073,000 after buying an additional 875 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 119.6% in the 4th quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 32,615 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,100,000 after buying an additional 17,766 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DGS Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 4,408 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $554,000 after buying an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MS opened at $137.85 on Friday. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $83.09 and a 52 week high of $139.04. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $222.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.36, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.36. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $129.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $114.87.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.68. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 14.39%. The business had revenue of $16.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.03 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.13 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.925 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.68%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.60%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.20, for a total value of $1,783,811.40. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 197,444 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,891,872.80. This trade represents a 6.22 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.01, for a total value of $2,380,175.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 81,440 shares in the company, valued at $11,076,654.40. The trade was a 17.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $104.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Morgan Stanley from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $107.00 to $142.00 in a report on Friday, November 15th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $108.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $131.27.

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.