Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Shares Sold by Wrapmanager Inc.

Wrapmanager Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 18.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,660 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 583 shares during the period. Wrapmanager Inc.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $334,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AMF Tjanstepension AB increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 10.9% in the third quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 256,360 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,755,000 after buying an additional 25,179 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 9.7% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 62,267 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,491,000 after acquiring an additional 5,502 shares during the last quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,308 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $970,000 after acquiring an additional 410 shares during the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 2.1% during the third quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 13,505 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,408,000 after acquiring an additional 281 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 4.0% during the third quarter. Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors now owns 3,954 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $412,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 0.3 %

MS opened at $129.58 on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $84.43 and a 12 month high of $142.03. The business has a 50-day moving average of $132.42 and a two-hundred day moving average of $120.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $208.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.37.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 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 previous year, the firm earned $1.13 earnings per share. Morgan Stanley’s revenue was up 25.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st were paid a dividend of $0.925 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.86%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.60%.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In related news, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.01, for a total transaction of $2,380,175.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 81,440 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,076,654.40. This represents a 17.69 % decrease in their position. The transaction 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 firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.20, for a total transaction of $1,783,811.40. Following the completion of the transaction, 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.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of 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 research report on Friday, November 15th. Hsbc Global Res cut Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. HSBC cut Morgan Stanley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $128.00 to $131.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $104.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Eleven investment 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 stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $131.27.

Morgan Stanley 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.