KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC trimmed its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 4.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 33,142 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,603 shares during the quarter. KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $4,167,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,748 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $346,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Cardinal Point Capital Management ULC raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Cardinal Point Capital Management ULC now owns 2,697 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $339,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Mason & Associates Inc raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Mason & Associates Inc now owns 3,177 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $399,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New Hampshire raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New Hampshire now owns 6,313 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $794,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 2.6% in the third quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 3,748 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $391,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on MS shares. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $108.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note 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 report on Monday, November 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $106.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. HSBC cut shares of Morgan Stanley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $128.00 to $131.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $140.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $126.53.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock opened at $135.80 on Friday. 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 $218.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.67, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.36. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $128.74 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $113.15. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $83.09 and a 12 month high of $136.24.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.57 by $0.31. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 12.58% and a net margin of 10.64%. The firm had revenue of $15.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.27 billion. On average, equities analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 7.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st will be issued a $0.925 dividend. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.72%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 56.32%.

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.