Jmac Enterprises LLC Sells 2,800 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Jmac Enterprises LLC lowered its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 32.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,900 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,800 shares during the period. Jmac Enterprises LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $742,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Peoples Bank KS bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 138.1% in 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 in the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the third quarter worth about $36,000. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 0.4 %

MS opened at $137.80 on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $83.09 and a twelve month high of $142.03. The company has a fifty day moving average of $130.80 and a 200-day moving average of $117.70. The stock has a market cap of $222.00 billion, a PE ratio of 17.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.37. 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 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. The firm had revenue of $16.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.03 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 14.39% and a net margin of 12.48%. The business’s revenue was up 25.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.13 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.60%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $11,076,654.40. The trade was a 17.69 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.20, for a total value 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $104.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $106.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $146.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average 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.