CoreCap Advisors LLC Has $314,000 Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

CoreCap Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 29.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,494 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 561 shares during the quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $314,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. IAG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of 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 lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 104.7% during the fourth quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 264 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the period. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 0.2%

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $121.66 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $195.18 billion, a PE ratio of 15.32, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.30. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $90.94 and a 12-month high of $142.03. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $114.39 and its 200 day moving average is $124.84. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $2.60 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.39. The business had revenue of $17.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.81 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 14.39%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 17.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.02 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be issued a $0.925 dividend. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 43.43%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective 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. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $144.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Barclays raised their price objective 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. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $135.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 24th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $132.46.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total transaction of $4,800,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 335,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $40,291,800. The trade was a 10.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Robert H. Herz sold 800 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the director now directly owns 96,760 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,545,403.20. The trade was a 0.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 50,868 shares of company stock worth $6,019,548. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.