Lewis Asset Management LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Lewis Asset Management LLC lessened its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 13.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,763 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 275 shares during the period. Lewis Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $222,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Peoples Bank KS purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 138.1% in the 3rd quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Planning Capital Management Corp raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 115.1% during the third 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 in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 0.2 %

NYSE:MS opened at $138.77 on Thursday. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $83.09 and a one year high of $141.48. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $129.66 and a 200-day moving average price of $115.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $223.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $16.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.13 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.49 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.925 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.67%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.60%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.01, for a total value of $2,380,175.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 81,440 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,076,654.40. The trade was a 17.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.20, for a total transaction of $1,783,811.40. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 197,444 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,891,872.80. The trade was a 6.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MS has been the topic of a number of research reports. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $108.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Citigroup upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $107.00 to $142.00 in a report on Friday, November 15th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $131.27.

Morgan Stanley Company 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.