Wealthspire Advisors LLC Has $3.46 Million Stock Holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Wealthspire Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 37,109 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 537 shares during the period. Wealthspire Advisors LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $3,460,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. CGC Financial Services LLC grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 5,200.0% in the fourth 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. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 77.3% during the 3rd quarter. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc now owns 328 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 123.2% in the 3rd quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 442 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares during the last quarter. Front Row Advisors LLC boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 220.6% in the third quarter. Front Row Advisors LLC now owns 452 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 311 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth $39,000. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on MS. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $101.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. TheStreet upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on Morgan Stanley from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 9th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $98.30.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 0.2 %

MS traded down $0.15 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $95.64. 4,662,561 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,411,363. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $69.42 and a 12-month high of $96.05. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $90.69 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $86.30. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $155.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.42, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.41.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.33. The company had revenue of $15.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.42 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 10.87% and a net margin of 9.57%. Morgan Stanley’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.70 EPS. Analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 6.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be issued a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.55%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 61.93%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Charles Aubrey Smith III sold 11,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Charles Aubrey Smith III sold 11,200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.09, for a total value 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.21, for a total transaction of $9,021,000.00. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 414,870 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $37,425,422.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 237,855 shares of company stock valued at $21,084,057. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

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.