Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Shares Bought by Avior Wealth Management LLC

Avior Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 2.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 6,600 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 163 shares during the period. Avior Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $615,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. CGC Financial Services LLC grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 5,200.0% in the fourth quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 265 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares during the period. RVW Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 77.3% during the 3rd quarter. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc now owns 328 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 143 shares during the period. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 810.8% in the 3rd quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 337 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. Finally, Coppell Advisory Solutions Corp. acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 26,655 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.19, for a total transaction of $2,324,049.45. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 286,835 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,009,143.65. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 26,655 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.19, for a total transaction of $2,324,049.45. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 286,835 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,009,143.65. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.13, for a total transaction of $841,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 323,490 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,215,213.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 201,155 shares of company stock valued at $17,564,394 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $101.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. TheStreet upgraded Morgan Stanley from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Cfra upped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. HSBC boosted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $102.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $96.13.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

NYSE MS opened at $90.08 on Thursday. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $69.42 and a 12-month high of $95.57. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $88.73 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $84.81. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $146.53 billion, a PE ratio of 16.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.43.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.33. The firm had revenue of $15.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.42 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 9.57% and a return on equity of 10.87%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.70 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 6.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be issued a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.93%.

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.