Ritholtz Wealth Management Has $2.98 Million Stock Holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Ritholtz Wealth Management trimmed its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 0.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 31,998 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 193 shares during the quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $2,984,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in MS. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth about $287,000. WASHINGTON TRUST Co boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 6.9% in the 4th quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co now owns 11,736 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,094,000 after purchasing an additional 761 shares in the last quarter. Westbourne Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Westbourne Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 75,781 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,067,000 after acquiring an additional 486 shares during the period. Procyon Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 32.1% during the 4th quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 12,618 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,177,000 after acquiring an additional 3,066 shares during the period. Finally, Planned Solutions Inc. purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at about $236,000. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of MS stock traded up $0.66 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $94.16. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 6,624,163 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,981,474. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $69.42 and a 52-week high of $95.57. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $87.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $84.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 0.75. The stock has a market cap of $153.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.21, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.43.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.06. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 10.36% and a net margin of 9.49%. The firm had revenue of $12.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.77 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.31 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 6.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 31st were paid a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.76%.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In related news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 26,655 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.19, for a total value of $2,324,049.45. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 286,835 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,009,143.65. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Raja Akram sold 4,500 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.41, for a total value of $393,345.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 93,134 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,140,842.94. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 26,655 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.19, for a total value of $2,324,049.45. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 286,835 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,009,143.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 208,155 shares of company stock worth $18,149,314 over the last quarter. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on MS shares. UBS Group increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $91.00 price objective (down previously from $102.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $89.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 19th. HSBC increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $109.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $94.45.

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.