Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC Sells 94 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC lowered its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 1.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,020 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 94 shares during the period. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $757,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Peoples Bank KS bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 138.1% in the 3rd quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the period. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth approximately $43,000. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of MS stock opened at $139.19 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $224.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.53, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.37. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $84.41 and a 52 week high of $142.03. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $131.22 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $118.20.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly 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 business 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 quarterly revenue was up 25.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.13 EPS. Analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st were given a dividend of $0.925 per share. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.66%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is 46.60%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 81,440 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,076,654.40. This represents a 17.69 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.20, for a total transaction of $1,783,811.40. Following the completion of the sale, 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. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $104.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $146.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $131.27.

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.