Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC Sells 352 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC trimmed its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 9.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,227 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 352 shares during the quarter. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $301,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MS. TCG Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 335.7% in the 4th quarter. TCG Advisory Services LLC now owns 170,118 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $15,863,000 after purchasing an additional 131,071 shares during the period. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $398,000. First National Trust Co boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. First National Trust Co now owns 34,756 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,241,000 after acquiring an additional 767 shares during the period. AJOVista LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth approximately $167,000. Finally, Baxter Bros Inc. raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Baxter Bros Inc. now owns 67,938 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,335,000 after acquiring an additional 765 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In other news, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.30, for a total transaction of $8,730,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 350,000 shares in the company, valued at $30,555,000. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.30, for a total transaction of $8,730,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 350,000 shares in the company, valued at $30,555,000. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Charles Aubrey Smith III sold 11,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now owns 126,190 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,368,457.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 237,855 shares of company stock worth $21,084,057 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on MS. Cfra increased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and set a $87.00 price objective (down previously from $94.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. UBS Group increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 9th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $91.00 price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $98.30.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of MS stock traded up $0.99 on Friday, reaching $93.64. The company had a trading volume of 5,043,459 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,976,032. The stock has a market capitalization of $152.32 billion, a PE ratio of 17.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89. The business’s 50-day moving average is $90.30 and its 200 day moving average is $85.98. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $69.42 and a one year high of $95.57.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.33. The firm had revenue of $15.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.42 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 9.57% and a return on equity of 10.87%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.70 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 6.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 29th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.63%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.93%.

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.