Dakota Wealth Management Sells 704 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Dakota Wealth Management lessened its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 6.2% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 10,575 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 704 shares during the period. Dakota Wealth Management’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $1,329,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Peoples Bank KS bought a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 138.1% during the 3rd quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares during the period. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Planning Capital Management Corp lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 115.1% during the 3rd quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 357 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 191 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

MS stock opened at $137.51 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $129.30 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $114.45. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $83.09 and a twelve month high of $138.38. The firm has a market cap of $221.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.32, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.36.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.68. The firm had revenue of $16.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.03 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 14.39% and a net margin of 12.48%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.13 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be paid a $0.925 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.69%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 81,440 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,076,654.40. This trade represents a 17.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.20, for a total value of $1,783,811.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 197,444 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,891,872.80. This represents a 6.22 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on MS shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Morgan Stanley from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $107.00 to $142.00 in a report on Friday, November 15th. UBS Group upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Barclays upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $131.27.

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.