Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Shares Sold by Quantum Financial Advisors LLC

Quantum Financial Advisors LLC lessened its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 2.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,342 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 93 shares during the quarter. Quantum Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $420,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MS. Tlwm boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Tlwm now owns 13,615 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,712,000 after acquiring an additional 584 shares in the last quarter. Cardinal Point Capital Management ULC grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Cardinal Point Capital Management ULC now owns 2,697 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $339,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Wallace Advisory Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 17.1% in the 4th quarter. Wallace Advisory Group LLC now owns 3,326 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $418,000 after acquiring an additional 485 shares during the period. Graves Light Lenhart Wealth Inc. purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at $216,000. Finally, Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 3,965 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $498,000 after purchasing an additional 217 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MS has been the subject of several analyst reports. UBS Group upped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $102.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $135.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $106.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $104.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $126.07.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

NYSE MS opened at $124.03 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $199.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.36. The business has a fifty day moving average of $128.61 and a 200-day moving average of $112.83. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $83.09 and a fifty-two week high of $136.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.57 by $0.31. The company had revenue of $15.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.27 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 10.64% and a return on equity of 12.58%. As a group, analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 7.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were issued a $0.925 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.98%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.32%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.17, for a total value of $7,150,200.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 138,363 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,488,718.71. This trade represents a 30.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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.