Nicolet Advisory Services LLC Sells 1,387 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Nicolet Advisory Services LLC trimmed its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 16.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,877 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,387 shares during the period. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $647,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MS. CGC Financial Services LLC grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 5,200.0% during the fourth quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 265 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. bought a new position in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. First United Bank & Trust bought a new position in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Union Savings Bank boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 62.5% during the fourth quarter. Union Savings Bank now owns 390 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $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 fourth 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 during the period. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 2.6 %

Shares of NYSE:MS traded down $2.72 on Friday, hitting $102.09. 12,555,898 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,320,718. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $69.42 and a 52 week high of $109.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.97. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $99.23 and a 200-day simple moving average of $92.88. The company has a market cap of $165.91 billion, a PE ratio of 18.60, a PEG ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.38.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.17. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 11.90% and a net margin of 10.17%. The firm had revenue of $15.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.32 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.24 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 7 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 31st will be issued a $0.925 dividend. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.62%. This is an increase from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.40%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Morgan Stanley news, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 200,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.06, for a total transaction of $21,012,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 150,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,759,000. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 200,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.06, for a total transaction of $21,012,000.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 150,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,759,000. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Mandell Crawley sold 6,954 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.61, for a total value of $692,687.94. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 46,274 shares in the company, valued at $4,609,353.14. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 255,454 shares of company stock worth $26,870,683. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MS. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. UBS Group raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $91.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered Morgan Stanley from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $101.18.

Morgan Stanley Company 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.