Janney Capital Management LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Janney Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 17.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 121,007 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 26,341 shares during the quarter. Morgan Stanley comprises approximately 1.0% of Janney Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. Janney Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $15,213,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MS. Peoples Bank KS purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 138.1% during the third quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 174 shares during the period. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley during the third quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Planning Capital Management Corp lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 115.1% during the third quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 357 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 191 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on MS. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $108.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. HSBC downgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $128.00 to $131.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $131.27.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 0.4 %

MS opened at $137.90 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $222.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.36. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $129.24 and its 200-day moving average is $114.30. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $83.09 and a 52-week high of $138.08. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.68. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 14.39%. The firm had revenue of $16.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.13 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 25.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.925 per share. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.60%.

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.