Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Shares Sold by KCM Investment Advisors LLC

KCM Investment Advisors LLC cut its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 9.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 23,159 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,319 shares during the period. KCM Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $2,912,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Peoples Bank KS acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Curio Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Trading Down 7.6 %

Shares of NYSE MS opened at $99.75 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $160.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.56, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.30. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $127.06 and a 200 day simple moving average of $124.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $85.01 and a 52 week high of $142.03.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.68. The company had revenue of $16.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.03 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 14.39%. Morgan Stanley’s quarterly revenue was up 25.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.13 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st were given a $0.925 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.71%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.60%.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 197,444 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,891,872.80. The trade was a 6.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were 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 owns 81,440 shares in the company, valued at $11,076,654.40. The trade was 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 currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MS has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Bank of America cut their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $144.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $142.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 28th. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $138.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $144.00 to $126.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, Erste Group Bank cut Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $129.87.

Morgan Stanley 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.