Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. Decreases Stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. lowered its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 5.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 8,456 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 459 shares during the quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $788,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Institute for Wealth Management LLC. increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Institute for Wealth Management LLC. now owns 17,578 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,639,000 after purchasing an additional 618 shares during the period. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.2% during the third quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 18,896 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,543,000 after buying an additional 580 shares during the period. Calamos Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.9% during the third quarter. Calamos Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $849,000 after acquiring an additional 290 shares in the last quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 17.9% in the fourth quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 917 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $86,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares during the period. Finally, Avior Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,600 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $615,000 after acquiring an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 1.1 %

NYSE:MS opened at $93.64 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $152.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.06, a PEG 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. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $90.30 and its 200-day moving average price is $85.87. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $69.42 and a 52 week high of $95.57.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.42 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.70 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 6.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be issued a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 29th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.63%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 61.93%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $91.00 price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. 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 research report on Wednesday, January 17th. TheStreet raised Morgan Stanley from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Bank of America raised their target price on Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $98.30.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 26,655 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the insider now owns 286,835 shares in the company, valued at $25,009,143.65. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Charles Aubrey Smith III sold 11,200 shares of the 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $11,368,457.10. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 26,655 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.19, for a total value of $2,324,049.45. Following the sale, the insider now owns 286,835 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,009,143.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 237,855 shares of company stock valued at $21,084,057. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.