Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. Sells 816 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. lowered its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 12.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,922 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 816 shares during the period. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $558,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at about $958,105,000. Boston Partners bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the third quarter worth approximately $477,765,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 17.2% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 38,451,051 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,585,561,000 after buying an additional 5,631,435 shares during the period. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at $512,867,000. Finally, FMR LLC raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 21.2% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 23,474,452 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,917,159,000 after buying an additional 4,098,577 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Charles Aubrey Smith III sold 11,200 shares of Morgan Stanley 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 transaction, the insider now owns 126,190 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,368,457.10. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the chairman now owns 350,000 shares in the company, valued at $30,555,000. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Charles Aubrey Smith III sold 11,200 shares of Morgan Stanley 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 sale, the insider now owns 126,190 shares in the company, valued at $11,368,457.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 237,855 shares of company stock valued at $21,084,057. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of MS stock traded down $1.28 on Tuesday, reaching $90.83. The stock had a trading volume of 5,859,814 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,641,185. The stock has a market cap of $147.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 0.75. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $69.42 and a 1 year high of $95.57. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $89.90 and a 200 day simple moving average of $85.68.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.33. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 9.57% and a return on equity of 10.87%. The company had revenue of $15.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.42 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.70 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 6.77 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be paid 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 3.74%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.93%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MS has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Cfra increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $87.00 price target (down previously from $94.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $102.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $98.30.

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.