PDS Planning Inc Lowers Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

PDS Planning Inc cut its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 2.9% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 5,115 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 153 shares during the quarter. PDS Planning Inc’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $477,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Arkadios Wealth Advisors increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 62.9% during the third quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 5,576 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $455,000 after acquiring an additional 2,152 shares during the last quarter. PFG Advisors increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 8.2% during the third quarter. PFG Advisors now owns 2,596 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $212,000 after acquiring an additional 196 shares during the last quarter. Summit Global Investments increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 5.0% during the third quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 2,692 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $220,000 after acquiring an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. Park Place Capital Corp increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 56.2% in the third quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 3,802 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $311,000 after buying an additional 1,368 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BTC Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.7% in the third quarter. BTC Capital Management Inc. now owns 106,921 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,732,000 after buying an additional 758 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on MS. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $87.00 target price (down from $94.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. Barclays boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $102.00 to $116.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 2nd. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $98.07.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of MS traded up $1.49 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $93.58. The stock had a trading volume of 1,474,408 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,786,204. The company’s 50-day moving average is $89.02 and its 200 day moving average is $85.10. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $69.42 and a 12-month high of $95.57. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89. The company has a market capitalization of $152.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.43.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.33. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 10.87% and a net margin of 9.57%. The firm had revenue of $15.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.42 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.70 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 6.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be paid a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.63%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.93%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Charles Aubrey Smith III sold 11,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.09, for a total value of $1,009,008.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 126,190 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,368,457.10. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.30, for a total value of $8,730,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 350,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,555,000. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Charles Aubrey Smith III sold 11,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.09, for a total value of $1,009,008.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 126,190 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,368,457.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 302,355 shares of company stock valued at $26,753,102. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

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.