NBW Capital LLC Decreases Stock Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

NBW Capital LLC cut its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 12.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,568 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 382 shares during the quarter. NBW Capital LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $239,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MS. M&R Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 6.7% during 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 acquiring an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. Summit Global Investments lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 2,692 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $220,000 after buying an additional 129 shares during the period. Corton Capital Inc. grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Corton Capital Inc. now owns 6,629 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $541,000 after buying an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. Excalibur Management Corp grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Excalibur Management Corp now owns 13,516 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,104,000 after buying an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hartford Financial Management Inc. increased its stake 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 valued at $86,000 after buying an additional 139 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

MS opened at $90.23 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $146.77 billion, a PE ratio of 16.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.43. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $88.82 and a 200-day moving average price of $84.85. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $69.42 and a 1 year high of $95.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.75.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.33. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 9.57% and a return on equity of 10.87%. The business had revenue of $15.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.42 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.70 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 6.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 29th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.77%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is 61.93%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. TheStreet raised Morgan Stanley from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Cfra boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $91.00 price target on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $97.79.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.30, for a total transaction of $8,730,000.00. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 350,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,555,000. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 26,655 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.19, for a total transaction of $2,324,049.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 286,835 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,009,143.65. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.30, for a total transaction of $8,730,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 350,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,555,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 191,155 shares of company stock valued at $16,723,094. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

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.