TFB Advisors LLC Sells 158 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

TFB Advisors LLC reduced its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 5.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,504 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 158 shares during the quarter. TFB Advisors LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $315,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in MS. Peoples Bank KS purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley in the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 138.1% during the 3rd quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other news, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was 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 owns 81,440 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,076,654.40. The trade was a 17.69 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.20, for a total value of $1,783,811.40. Following the sale, the insider now owns 197,444 shares in the company, valued at $26,891,872.80. The trade was a 6.22 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock opened at $137.13 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $220.92 billion, a PE ratio of 17.27, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.37. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $130.94 and a 200 day moving average of $117.93. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $83.09 and a 12 month high of $142.03.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.68. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 14.39% and a net margin of 12.48%. The firm had revenue of $16.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.03 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.13 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 25.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be paid a $0.925 dividend. 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 2.70%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is currently 46.60%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on MS shares. 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 report on Monday, January 13th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $146.00 to $153.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $131.27.

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.