FineMark National Bank & Trust Cuts Stock Holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

FineMark National Bank & Trust lessened its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 11.1% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 140,734 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 17,553 shares during the quarter. FineMark National Bank & Trust’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $17,693,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MS. Peoples Bank KS acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Curio Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 3.5 %

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock opened at $124.38 on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $85.01 and a fifty-two week high of $142.03. The business’s fifty day moving average is $130.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $123.31. 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 firm has a market cap of $200.61 billion, a PE ratio of 15.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.35.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.68. The firm had revenue of $16.23 billion for 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.13 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st were given a $0.925 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.97%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.60%.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In related news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now owns 197,444 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,891,872.80. This trade 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 company’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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 81,440 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Bank of America boosted their price objective 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. Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped 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. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $130.93.

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.