Hodges Capital Management Inc. Decreases Stock Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Hodges Capital Management Inc. lowered its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 30.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 41,996 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 18,150 shares during the quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $3,955,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. CGC Financial Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 5,200.0% in the 4th quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 265 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. First United Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Union Savings Bank increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 62.5% in the 4th quarter. Union Savings Bank now owns 390 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Delos Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 13,333.3% in the 4th quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 403 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of MS opened at $97.19 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $96.61 and a 200-day moving average price of $91.76. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $69.42 and a fifty-two week high of $103.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $157.95 billion, a PE ratio of 17.70, a PEG ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.97, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.77.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.33. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 9.57% and a return on equity of 10.88%. The firm had revenue of $15.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.42 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.70 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 6.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th were given a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 29th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.50%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is presently 61.93%.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In related news, insider Charles Aubrey Smith III sold 11,200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.09, for a total transaction of $1,009,008.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 126,190 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,368,457.10. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, insider Mandell Crawley sold 6,954 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.61, for a total transaction of $692,687.94. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 46,274 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,609,353.14. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Charles Aubrey Smith III sold 11,200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.09, for a total transaction of $1,009,008.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 126,190 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,368,457.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 118,154 shares of company stock valued at $10,722,696. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MS has been the topic of several analyst reports. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $101.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. HSBC upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. Cfra upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $91.00 price target on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $98.30.

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.