Northern Financial Advisors Inc Lowers Stock Holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Northern Financial Advisors Inc reduced its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 24.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 5,308 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,697 shares during the period. Northern Financial Advisors Inc’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $495,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MS. Boston Partners purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $477,765,000. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 21.2% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 23,474,452 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,917,159,000 after buying an additional 4,098,577 shares during the period. J.P. Morgan Private Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $223,596,000. California Public Employees Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 53.1% in the 3rd quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 4,015,294 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $327,929,000 after buying an additional 1,393,065 shares during the period. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 229.0% in the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,215,753 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $113,369,000 after buying an additional 846,266 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE:MS traded up $0.03 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $95.82. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,831,709 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,378,745. The firm has a market cap of $155.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $69.42 and a 1 year high of $95.93. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $90.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $86.30.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 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 previous year, the business earned $1.70 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 6.84 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be given a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.93%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley 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 transaction 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 $30,555,000. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Morgan Stanley 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 transaction of $8,730,000.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 350,000 shares in the company, valued at $30,555,000. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 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 sold 237,855 shares of company stock valued at $21,084,057. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MS has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Oppenheimer raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $101.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $87.00 price objective (down from $94.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. HSBC lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 9th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $98.30.

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.