Hennessy Advisors Inc. Sells 5,800 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Hennessy Advisors Inc. cut its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS – Get Rating) by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 88,800 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 5,800 shares during the quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $7,016,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 103.2% in the 3rd quarter. Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC now owns 315 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Better Money Decisions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter worth $32,000. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 118.9% in the 3rd quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 475 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 258 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Trustcore Financial Services LLC increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 69.3% in the 3rd quarter. Trustcore Financial Services LLC now owns 574 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 235 shares in the last quarter. 83.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, Director Alistair Darling sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.70, for a total transaction of $189,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 34,465 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,263,835.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director Alistair Darling sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.70, for a total value of $189,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 34,465 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,263,835.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO James P. Gorman sold 250,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.93, for a total value of $24,232,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,112,348 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $107,819,891.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 302,010 shares of company stock valued at $29,275,116. 0.26% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock traded up $0.85 on Wednesday, hitting $98.18. The company had a trading volume of 1,696,193 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,116,057. The stock has a market capitalization of $165.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.86, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.34. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $72.05 and a 1 year high of $109.73. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $90.15 and a 200-day moving average of $86.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.79.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $12.75 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.16 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 11.99% and a net margin of 16.73%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 7.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 31st will be given a dividend of $0.775 per share. This represents a $3.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.16%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 50.49%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Citigroup cut Morgan Stanley from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $100.00 target price for the company. in a report on Wednesday, January 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 6th. Cfra reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $95.00 price target (up previously from $90.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Tuesday, January 17th. Odeon Capital Group upgraded Morgan Stanley from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $88.75 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 10th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on Morgan Stanley from $92.00 to $84.00 in a research report on Friday, January 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $96.99.

Morgan Stanley Company Profile

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Morgan Stanley operates as a global financial services company. The firm provides investment banking products and services to its clients and customers including corporations, governments, financial institutions, and individuals. It operates through the following segments: Institutional Securities, Wealth Management, and Investment Management.