MV Capital Management Inc. Cuts Stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

MV Capital Management Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 14.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 919 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 151 shares during the period. MV Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $116,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Peoples Bank KS acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Curio Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $146.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on Morgan Stanley from $144.00 to $126.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Citigroup lowered their price target on Morgan Stanley from $135.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 24th. UBS Group upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $131.53.

Morgan Stanley Trading Down 3.2 %

Shares of MS stock opened at $115.23 on Friday. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $85.01 and a 1 year high of $142.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $185.85 billion, a PE ratio of 14.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.35. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $129.61 and a two-hundred day moving average of $123.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80.

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

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st were paid a dividend of $0.925 per share. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is currently 46.60%.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In other news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.20, for a total transaction of $1,783,811.40. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 197,444 shares in the company, valued at $26,891,872.80. The trade was a 6.22 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.01, for a total transaction of $2,380,175.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 81,440 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,076,654.40. This trade 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.

About Morgan Stanley

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.