Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC Reduces Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC reduced its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 1.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 88,497 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 939 shares during the period. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $11,126,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,711,805 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $491,159,000 after purchasing an additional 36,120 shares during the last quarter. Cadence Bank purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley during the third quarter worth approximately $230,000. CreativeOne Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 121.2% during the third quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 16,591 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,729,000 after buying an additional 9,090 shares during the last quarter. De Lisle Partners LLP purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 3rd quarter valued at $521,000. Finally, Financial Counselors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 9.1% in the 3rd quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. now owns 88,279 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,202,000 after acquiring an additional 7,354 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of MS stock opened at $115.23 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $129.61 and a two-hundred day moving average of $123.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $185.85 billion, a PE ratio of 14.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.35. 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 has a 52 week low of $85.01 and a 52 week high of $142.03.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.68. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 14.39% and a net margin of 12.48%. The firm had revenue of $16.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.03 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.13 earnings per share. Morgan Stanley’s revenue was up 25.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st were issued a $0.925 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.21%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.60%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on MS. Barclays upped 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. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Bank of America raised their target price on Morgan Stanley from $146.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $124.00 to $129.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $131.53.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 197,444 shares in the company, valued at $26,891,872.80. This trade represents a 6.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.01, for a total value of $2,380,175.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 81,440 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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. 0.24% of the stock is owned by 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.