Ellsworth Advisors LLC Takes Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Ellsworth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 2,650 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $247,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MS. CGC Financial Services LLC boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 5,200.0% during the 4th quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 265 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. RVW Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 77.3% in the 3rd quarter. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc now owns 328 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Janiczek Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 810.8% during the 3rd quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 337 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 26,655 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.19, for a total transaction of $2,324,049.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 286,835 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,009,143.65. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Morgan Stanley news, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.30, for a total value of $8,730,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 350,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,555,000. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 26,655 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.19, for a total value of $2,324,049.45. Following the sale, the insider now owns 286,835 shares in the company, valued at $25,009,143.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 208,155 shares of company stock valued at $18,149,314 over the last 90 days. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $87.00 target price (down from $94.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. HSBC increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. UBS Group raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $91.00 target price (down from $102.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Finally, Oppenheimer decreased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $109.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $94.45.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 0.7 %

NYSE:MS traded up $0.66 on Thursday, hitting $94.16. 6,624,163 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,981,474. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $87.31 and a 200-day moving average price of $84.16. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89. The company has a market cap of $153.98 billion, a PE ratio of 18.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.43. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $69.42 and a 1 year high of $95.57.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.06. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 10.36% and a net margin of 9.49%. The business had revenue of $12.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.77 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.31 earnings per share. Morgan Stanley’s quarterly revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 6.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 31st were paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, January 30th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.61%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.76%.

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.