Shepherd Financial Partners LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Shepherd Financial Partners LLC decreased its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 8.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 3,749 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 330 shares during the quarter. Shepherd Financial Partners LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $471,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. AMF Tjanstepension AB boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 10.9% during the 3rd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 256,360 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,755,000 after acquiring an additional 25,179 shares during the period. Brookstone Capital Management boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 7,028 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $733,000 after buying an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 18.4% in the third quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,834 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $504,000 after acquiring an additional 751 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 137,240 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $14,306,000 after acquiring an additional 6,202 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marcum Wealth LLC increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 10.6% during the 3rd quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC now owns 5,257 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $548,000 after purchasing an additional 505 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

MS stock opened at $139.88 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $83.09 and a 52 week high of $142.03. The firm has a market cap of $225.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.62, a P/E/G ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.37. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $130.51 and its 200 day moving average is $117.00.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.68. The company had revenue of $16.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.03 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 14.39%. Morgan Stanley’s revenue was up 25.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.13 EPS. Research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be paid a $0.925 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.65%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.60%.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on MS shares. HSBC downgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $128.00 to $131.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Barclays lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Morgan Stanley from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $107.00 to $142.00 in a research report on Friday, November 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective 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, Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $131.27.

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.