Financial Advocates Investment Management Sells 170 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Financial Advocates Investment Management lessened its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 6.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,457 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 170 shares during the quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $309,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MS. Beacon Financial Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $214,000. Adero Partners LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at $245,000. YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth $488,000. Bleakley Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 28,453 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,577,000 after buying an additional 910 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brandywine Oak Private Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Brandywine Oak Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,707 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $340,000 after buying an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE MS opened at $139.88 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $130.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $117.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $225.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.62, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.37. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $83.09 and a 52-week high of $142.03.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.68. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 14.39% and a net margin of 12.48%. The firm had revenue of $16.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.13 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.20, for a total transaction of $1,783,811.40. Following 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 81,440 shares in the company, 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. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on MS shares. Barclays lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Hsbc Global Res downgraded Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Morgan Stanley from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $107.00 to $142.00 in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $106.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $131.27.

Morgan Stanley 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.