Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Shares Sold by IFP Advisors Inc

IFP Advisors Inc lowered its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 11.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 7,723 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,038 shares during the quarter. IFP Advisors Inc’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $971,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 474.3% in the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 21,134 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,203,000 after purchasing an additional 17,454 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.8% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,711,805 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $491,159,000 after acquiring an additional 36,120 shares in the last quarter. Matrix Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at $2,040,000. Johnson & White Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth about $597,000. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 1,152,937 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $120,182,000 after purchasing an additional 16,350 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE:MS opened at $129.23 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $132.80 and a 200-day moving average of $120.78. The stock has a market cap of $208.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.37. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $84.43 and a one year high of $142.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $16.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.03 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.13 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 25.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st were given a $0.925 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.86%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is 46.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 81,440 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,076,654.40. The trade was a 17.69 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.20, for a total transaction of $1,783,811.40. Following the sale, the insider now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on MS shares. Barclays boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $104.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $131.27.

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.