Apexium Financial LP Has $322,000 Stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Apexium Financial LP reduced its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 19.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,561 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 636 shares during the period. Apexium Financial LP’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $322,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 474.3% during the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 21,134 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,203,000 after buying an additional 17,454 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 0.8% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,711,805 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $491,159,000 after purchasing an additional 36,120 shares during the last quarter. Matrix Trust Co bought a new position in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,040,000. Natixis Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 1,152,937 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $120,182,000 after purchasing an additional 16,350 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Johnson & White Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth approximately $597,000. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on MS shares. HSBC downgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $128.00 to $131.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $104.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $106.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $131.27.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

NYSE:MS opened at $136.63 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. The firm has a market cap of $220.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.36. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $83.09 and a 52 week high of $139.04. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $129.48 and its 200 day simple moving average is $115.04.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.68. The company had revenue of $16.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.03 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 14.39%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.13 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be given a dividend of $0.925 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.71%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 46.60%.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other news, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.01, for a total transaction of $2,380,175.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 81,440 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,076,654.40. This represents a 17.69 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.20, for a total transaction of $1,783,811.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 197,444 shares in the company, valued at $26,891,872.80. This trade represents a 6.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.