Cypress Capital Group Has $618,000 Stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Cypress Capital Group trimmed its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 34.9% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 4,915 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,638 shares during the period. Cypress Capital Group’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $618,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. DGS Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 4,408 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $554,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Perfromance Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Perfromance Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,004 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $378,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 12,298 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,546,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Avestar Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 13,290 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,671,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kennebec Savings Bank lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank now owns 2,908 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $361,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of MS opened at $123.75 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $199.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $132.90 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $121.72. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $84.43 and a 12 month high of $142.03.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.68. The company had revenue of $16.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.03 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 14.39%. The company’s revenue was up 25.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.13 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st were issued a dividend of $0.925 per share. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.99%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 46.60%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on MS shares. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $146.00 to $153.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. HSBC cut shares of Morgan Stanley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their target price for the company from $128.00 to $131.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $107.00 to $142.00 in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. 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, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $131.27.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In related news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were 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 owns 197,444 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,891,872.80. This trade represents a 6.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.01, for a total transaction of $2,380,175.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 81,440 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,076,654.40. This represents a 17.69 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

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.