Gradient Investments LLC Lowers Holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Gradient Investments LLC cut its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 9.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 298,807 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 32,504 shares during the period. Gradient Investments LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $37,566,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Peoples Bank KS purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 138.1% in the third quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 174 shares during the period. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the third quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Planning Capital Management Corp grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 115.1% during the third quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 357 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 191 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.01, for a total transaction of $2,380,175.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 81,440 shares in the company, valued at $11,076,654.40. The trade was a 17.69 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.20, for a total value of $1,783,811.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 197,444 shares in the company, valued at $26,891,872.80. This represents a 6.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 0.0 %

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock opened at $137.85 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $129.40 and a 200 day moving average price of $114.61. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $83.09 and a fifty-two week high of $139.04. The firm has a market cap of $222.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.68. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 14.39% and a net margin of 12.48%. The business 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 business earned $1.13 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 25.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be given a $0.925 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.68%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is currently 46.60%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MS has been the topic of several recent research reports. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Bank of America upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $146.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $108.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Hsbc Global Res cut shares of Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.