Avidian Wealth Solutions LLC Has $902,000 Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Avidian Wealth Solutions LLC cut its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 21.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,672 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,575 shares during the quarter. Avidian Wealth Solutions LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $902,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. CGC Financial Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 5,200.0% in the fourth quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 265 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 77.3% during the 3rd quarter. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc now owns 328 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 123.2% in the third quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 442 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Front Row Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 220.6% in the third quarter. Front Row Advisors LLC now owns 452 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 311 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of MS stock traded up $0.99 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $93.64. 5,043,459 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,976,032. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $69.42 and a 52 week high of $95.57. The stock has a market cap of $152.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.75. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $90.30 and its 200-day moving average is $85.98.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.33. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 9.57% and a return on equity of 10.87%. The firm had revenue of $15.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.42 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.70 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 6.84 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be given a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 29th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.63%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is currently 61.93%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 26,655 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.19, for a total transaction of $2,324,049.45. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 286,835 shares in the company, valued at $25,009,143.65. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, insider Charles Aubrey Smith III sold 11,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.09, for a total value of $1,009,008.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 126,190 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,368,457.10. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 26,655 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.19, for a total transaction of $2,324,049.45. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 286,835 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,009,143.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 237,855 shares of company stock worth $21,084,057 over the last ninety days. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MS has been the subject of several research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Cfra upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $101.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. Finally, JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $98.30.

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.