Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Shares Sold by Ritholtz Wealth Management

Ritholtz Wealth Management cut its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 0.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 31,998 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 193 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $2,984,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Fairfield Bush & CO. acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 1st quarter worth about $108,000. Baird Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 7.8% in the 1st quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 306,637 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,801,000 after purchasing an additional 22,095 shares in the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 61.9% in the 1st quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 6,957 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $608,000 after purchasing an additional 2,660 shares in the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 64.5% in the 1st quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 17,070 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,492,000 after purchasing an additional 6,696 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 66.9% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 626 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 251 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.13, for a total value of $841,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 323,490 shares in the company, valued at $27,215,213.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CFO Raja Akram sold 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.56, for a total value of $584,920.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 97,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,158,297.04. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.13, for a total transaction of $841,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 323,490 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,215,213.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 208,155 shares of company stock worth $18,149,314 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:MS traded up $0.66 during trading on Thursday, hitting $94.16. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 6,624,163 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,981,474. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 0.75. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $87.31 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $84.16. The company has a market capitalization of $153.98 billion, a PE ratio of 18.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.43. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $69.42 and a fifty-two week high of $95.57.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $12.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.77 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 9.49% and a return on equity of 10.36%. The company’s revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.31 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 6.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 31st were paid a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, January 30th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.61%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is presently 65.76%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on MS shares. Oppenheimer decreased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $109.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $91.00 price target on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Wednesday. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 9th. Finally, HSBC lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.