Apollon Wealth Management LLC Raises Holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Apollon Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 15.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 25,594 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,376 shares during the quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $2,387,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of MS. M&R Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 6.7% in the fourth quarter. M&R Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,020 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $188,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares during the period. Corton Capital Inc. boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Corton Capital Inc. now owns 6,629 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $541,000 after buying an additional 133 shares during the period. Excalibur Management Corp grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.0% in the third quarter. Excalibur Management Corp now owns 13,516 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,104,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 17.9% during the fourth quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 917 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $86,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares during the period. Finally, Waterfront Wealth Inc. raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Waterfront Wealth Inc. now owns 14,613 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,363,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Morgan Stanley stock traded up $1.00 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $95.79. 6,844,439 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,453,903. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $90.48 and its 200 day simple moving average is $86.14. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $69.42 and a 12-month high of $95.93. 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 $155.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.41.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.33. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 10.87% and a net margin of 9.57%. The firm had revenue of $15.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.42 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.70 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 6.84 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be given a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 29th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.55%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is currently 61.93%.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.30, for a total value of $8,730,000.00. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 350,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,555,000. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, insider Charles Aubrey Smith III sold 11,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.09, for a total value of $1,009,008.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 126,190 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,368,457.10. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.30, for a total value of $8,730,000.00. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 350,000 shares in the company, valued at $30,555,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 237,855 shares of company stock worth $21,084,057 over the last ninety days. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on MS. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Cfra lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, TheStreet upgraded Morgan Stanley from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $98.30.

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.