Lorne Steinberg Wealth Management Inc. Cuts Stock Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Lorne Steinberg Wealth Management Inc. cut its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 0.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 52,698 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 159 shares during the quarter. Lorne Steinberg Wealth Management Inc.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $4,914,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. CGC Financial Services LLC raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 5,200.0% in the 4th quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 265 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 77.3% during the third quarter. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc now owns 328 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 810.8% during the third quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 337 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Finally, VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 123.2% in the 3rd quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 442 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 244 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 26,655 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.19, for a total transaction of $2,324,049.45. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 286,835 shares in the company, valued at $25,009,143.65. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other 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 sale, the insider now owns 286,835 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,009,143.65. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Raja Akram sold 4,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.41, for a total value of $393,345.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 93,134 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,140,842.94. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 302,355 shares of company stock worth $26,753,102. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on MS shares. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $87.00 price target (down from $94.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $102.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 2nd. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $98.07.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:MS traded down $0.30 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $93.46. 1,740,328 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,760,544. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $89.22 and its 200-day moving average price is $85.20. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $69.42 and a 12-month 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. The stock has a market capitalization of $152.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.09, a PEG ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.43.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.33. The firm had revenue of $15.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.42 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 9.57% and a return on equity of 10.87%. Morgan Stanley’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.70 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 6.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is presently 61.93%.

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.