Granite Group Advisors LLC Lowers Holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Granite Group Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 12.0% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 18,628 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,546 shares during the quarter. Morgan Stanley makes up 1.5% of Granite Group Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Granite Group Advisors LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $2,342,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Peoples Bank KS acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the third quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Planning Capital Management Corp raised its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In other news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.20, for a total transaction of $1,783,811.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 197,444 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,891,872.80. This represents a 6.22 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.01, for a total transaction of $2,380,175.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 81,440 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,076,654.40. This represents a 17.69 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 0.0 %

NYSE:MS opened at $137.85 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $222.08 billion, a PE ratio of 17.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.36. 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 has a 52-week low of $83.09 and a 52-week high of $139.04. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $129.48 and a 200-day simple moving average of $114.96.

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. The business had revenue of $16.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.03 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 14.39% and a net margin of 12.48%. The business’s revenue was up 25.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.13 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.925 per share. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.60%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $146.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 25th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $104.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $108.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $131.27.

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.