Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Shares Sold by Fielder Capital Group LLC

Fielder Capital Group LLC decreased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 12.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,751 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 802 shares during the period. Fielder Capital Group LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $723,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Peoples Bank KS purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 138.1% in the third quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Planning Capital Management Corp increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 115.1% during the 3rd quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 357 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In related news, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was 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 $11,076,654.40. This trade represents a 17.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the insider now owns 197,444 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,891,872.80. The trade was a 6.22 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 1.4 %

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $129.23 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $208.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.28, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $84.43 and a fifty-two week high of $142.03. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $132.80 and a 200-day simple moving average of $120.78.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.68. The company 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%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.13 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st were given a dividend of $0.925 per share. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is currently 46.60%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on MS. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $146.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. HSBC downgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $128.00 to $131.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Morgan Stanley from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $107.00 to $142.00 in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 25th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $131.27.

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.