Corient Private Wealth LLC Sells 623,822 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Corient Private Wealth LLC decreased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 32.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,281,002 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 623,822 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LLC owned 0.08% of Morgan Stanley worth $160,562,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,711,805 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $491,159,000 after purchasing an additional 36,120 shares in the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 3rd quarter worth about $513,000. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 16.1% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 221,196 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $23,057,000 after purchasing an additional 30,722 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 44.1% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 65,907 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,870,000 after purchasing an additional 20,160 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mizuho Markets Cayman LP acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 3rd quarter worth about $173,000. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 3.3 %

MS opened at $115.41 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $131.30 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $122.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $85.01 and a fifty-two week high of $142.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $186.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.54, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.35.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $15.03 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.13 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 25.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st were paid a $0.925 dividend. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 197,444 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,891,872.80. This represents a 6.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.01, for a total transaction of $2,380,175.00. Following the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MS has been the subject of several analyst reports. Hsbc Global Res cut shares of Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $146.00 to $153.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $131.27.

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.