Xcel Wealth Management LLC Cuts Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Xcel Wealth Management LLC decreased its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 8.8% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 53,005 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 5,110 shares during the quarter. Morgan Stanley accounts for approximately 1.8% of Xcel Wealth Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest holding. Xcel Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $6,664,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. AMF Tjanstepension AB grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 10.9% in the third quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 256,360 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,755,000 after acquiring an additional 25,179 shares in the last quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 5.1% in the third quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,967 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $309,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 11.5% in the third quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,891 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $614,000 after acquiring an additional 606 shares in the last quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the third quarter valued at approximately $274,000. Finally, HM Payson & Co. grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 24.5% in the third quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 7,310 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $762,000 after acquiring an additional 1,439 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,891,872.80. This represents a 6.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.01, for a total value of $2,380,175.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 81,440 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,076,654.40. This represents a 17.69 % 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 3.0 %

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock opened at $133.11 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $214.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.76, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $132.99 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $121.05. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $84.43 and a 12-month high of $142.03.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.68. The firm had revenue of $16.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.03 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 14.39% and a net margin of 12.48%. The company’s revenue was up 25.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.13 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st were given a dividend of $0.925 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.78%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is currently 46.60%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on MS shares. 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, January 21st. Barclays raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Hsbc Global Res cut Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $146.00 to $153.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 25th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $131.27.

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.