Institute for Wealth Management LLC. Trims Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Institute for Wealth Management LLC. reduced its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 1.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 17,278 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 171 shares during the period. Institute for Wealth Management LLC.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $2,172,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Peoples Bank KS acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the third quarter worth $26,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 138.1% during the third quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 174 shares during the period. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley in the third quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Planning Capital Management Corp raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 115.1% in the third quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 357 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 191 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 1.0 %

NYSE:MS opened at $140.05 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $225.63 billion, a PE ratio of 17.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.36. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $83.09 and a 52-week high of $141.48. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $129.80 and its 200 day moving average price is $115.67. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.68. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 14.39%. The company had revenue of $16.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.03 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.13 EPS. Morgan Stanley’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.52 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be paid a $0.925 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.64%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.60%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on MS shares. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $108.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Hsbc Global Res cut Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. UBS Group increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $106.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $131.27.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 197,444 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,891,872.80. The trade was a 6.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, 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 value of $2,380,175.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 81,440 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,076,654.40. The trade was a 17.69 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.