Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Shares Sold by Centric Wealth Management

Centric Wealth Management trimmed its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 5.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,676 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 220 shares during the period. Centric Wealth Management’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $462,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MS. Peoples Bank KS acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Curio Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $144.00 to $126.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Barclays lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Erste Group Bank cut shares of Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $142.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $131.53.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 197,444 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,891,872.80. This trade represents a 6.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of the company’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 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 1.3 %

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $116.85 on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $85.01 and a 52 week high of $142.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $188.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $129.19 and a 200 day moving average price of $124.11.

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

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st were paid a dividend of $0.925 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.17%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.60%.

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.