Orion Capital Management LLC Has $1.06 Million Holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Orion Capital Management LLC reduced its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 3.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,460 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 280 shares during the quarter. Orion Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $1,064,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Curio Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Ancora Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 104.7% in the fourth quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 264 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Crowley Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total transaction of $4,800,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 335,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $40,291,800. The trade was a 10.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert H. Herz sold 800 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.32, for a total transaction of $95,456.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 96,760 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,545,403.20. This trade represents a 0.82% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 50,868 shares of company stock worth $6,019,548 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 1.4%

MS stock opened at $129.06 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $116.40 and a 200-day moving average of $125.40. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $90.94 and a fifty-two week high of $142.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $207.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $2.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.39. The company had revenue of $17.74 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.81 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 14.39%. The firm’s revenue was up 17.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.02 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th were given a dividend of $0.925 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.87%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.43%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on MS shares. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $138.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $120.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $144.00 to $126.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $132.46.

Morgan Stanley Company 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.