Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Lowers Stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lessened its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 5.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 422,649 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 26,203 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $39,412,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brown Advisory Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 17.8% in the third quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 146,688 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $11,980,000 after purchasing an additional 22,136 shares during the period. Mastrapasqua Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 51.7% in the 3rd quarter. Mastrapasqua Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $359,000 after buying an additional 1,500 shares during the period. Concord Wealth Partners grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 26.0% in the third quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 8,057 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $658,000 after acquiring an additional 1,662 shares in the last quarter. Everhart Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 8.8% during the third quarter. Everhart Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,734 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $387,000 after acquiring an additional 381 shares during the period. Finally, Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 11.2% in the third quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 5,606 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $458,000 after acquiring an additional 563 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on MS shares. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Cfra raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, HSBC raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $98.30.

Insider Activity

In other Morgan Stanley news, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.21, for a total value of $9,021,000.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 414,870 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,425,422.70. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Morgan Stanley news, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.21, for a total value of $9,021,000.00. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 414,870 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,425,422.70. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Charles Aubrey Smith III sold 11,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the insider now owns 126,190 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,368,457.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 237,855 shares of company stock valued at $21,084,057. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:MS opened at $93.64 on Friday. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $69.42 and a 1-year high of $95.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.75. The stock has a market cap of $152.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.41. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $90.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $85.87.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.33. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 9.57% and a return on equity of 10.87%. The business had revenue of $15.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.42 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.70 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 6.84 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

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

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.