MainStreet Investment Advisors LLC Lowers Holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

MainStreet Investment Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 3.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 25,355 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 909 shares during the quarter. MainStreet Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $3,188,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Johnson & White Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at $597,000. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 117.2% in the fourth quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 16,968 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,133,000 after purchasing an additional 9,156 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 499,554 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $62,804,000 after purchasing an additional 14,283 shares during the last quarter. Pamalican Asset Management Ltd purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at $4,513,000. Finally, Ethic Inc. boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 35.8% in the fourth quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 162,269 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $20,400,000 after purchasing an additional 42,743 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on MS shares. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $138.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $144.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $120.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Erste Group Bank lowered shares of Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $132.46.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 1.8%

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock opened at $129.32 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $207.47 billion, a PE ratio of 16.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.30. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $90.94 and a twelve month high of $142.03. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $114.66 and its 200 day moving average price is $124.94. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14.

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

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.86%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 43.43%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

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

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.