DGS Capital Management LLC Sells 415 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

DGS Capital Management LLC cut its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 15.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,355 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 415 shares during the period. DGS Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $220,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank bought a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at $956,566,000. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 125,756.8% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 10,641,190 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $904,714,000 after purchasing an additional 10,632,735 shares during the period. Boston Partners bought a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 3rd quarter valued at $477,765,000. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board bought a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 1st quarter valued at $451,711,000. Finally, FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 21.2% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 23,474,452 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,917,159,000 after purchasing an additional 4,098,577 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 10,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.13, for a total transaction of $841,300.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 323,490 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,215,213.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CFO Raja Akram sold 7,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.56, for a total transaction of $584,920.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 97,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,158,297.04. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 10,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.13, for a total transaction of $841,300.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 323,490 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,215,213.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 208,155 shares of company stock worth $18,149,314. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

MS stock opened at $89.13 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $88.65 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $84.78. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $69.42 and a 12-month high of $95.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $144.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.24, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.72 by $0.30. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 9.49% and a return on equity of 10.36%. 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 company earned $1.70 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 6.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on MS shares. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $102.00 to $116.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $91.00 price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $89.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 19th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $95.66.

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.