Private Wealth Partners LLC Has $7.79 Million Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Private Wealth Partners LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 0.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 61,971 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 424 shares during the quarter. Private Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $7,791,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Peoples Bank KS bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley during the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 138.1% in the third quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MS opened at $140.70 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $132.16 and its 200-day moving average is $119.40. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $226.67 billion, a PE ratio of 17.72, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.37. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $84.43 and a 1-year high of $142.03.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $16.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.13 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 25.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st were given a $0.925 dividend. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.63%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.60%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MS has been the subject of several analyst reports. Barclays boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. HSBC lowered shares of Morgan Stanley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their target price for the company from $128.00 to $131.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price 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 downgraded Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $131.27.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Morgan Stanley news, 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 81,440 shares in the company, valued at $11,076,654.40. This represents a 17.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.20, for a total value of $1,783,811.40. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 197,444 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,891,872.80. The trade was 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.

Morgan Stanley Company 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.