Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC Decreases Stock Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC cut its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 9.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 14,888 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,514 shares during the quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $1,402,000 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 the stock. CGC Financial Services LLC increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 5,200.0% during 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 period. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. First United Bank & Trust bought a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Union Savings Bank lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 62.5% in the 4th quarter. Union Savings Bank now owns 390 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the period. Finally, Delos Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 13,333.3% during the 4th quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 403 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. TheStreet raised Morgan Stanley from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $98.30.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of MS traded up $1.42 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $97.19. The stock had a trading volume of 7,955,235 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,633,496. The firm has a market capitalization of $157.95 billion, a PE ratio of 17.57, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.97, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.77. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $69.42 and a 12 month high of $103.25. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $96.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $91.58.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.33. The firm had revenue of $15.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.42 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 9.57% and a return on equity of 10.88%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.70 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 6.82 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th were given a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 61.93%.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other news, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.21, for a total transaction of $9,021,000.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 414,870 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,425,422.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Morgan Stanley news, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.21, for a total value of $9,021,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 414,870 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,425,422.70. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Charles Aubrey Smith III sold 11,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.09, for a total value of $1,009,008.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 126,190 shares in the company, valued at $11,368,457.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 118,154 shares of company stock worth $10,722,696 in the last three months. 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.