Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Stock Holdings Lessened by Coastline Trust Co

Coastline Trust Co reduced its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 5.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 16,274 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 909 shares during the quarter. Coastline Trust Co’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $2,046,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MS. Peoples Bank KS acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Curio Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE MS opened at $109.06 on Friday. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $90.36 and a fifty-two week high of $142.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $175.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $119.53 and its 200 day simple moving average is $124.31.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $2.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.39. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 14.39%. The company had revenue of $17.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.81 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.02 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be paid a $0.925 dividend. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is 43.43%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on MS. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Bank of America reduced their price target on Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $144.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $144.00 to $126.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Citigroup reduced their target price on Morgan Stanley from $135.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $130.50.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 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. Insiders have sold a total of 40,665 shares of company stock worth $5,288,079 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

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.