Mosley Wealth Management Cuts Holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Mosley Wealth Management lessened its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 2.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,840 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 136 shares during the period. Mosley Wealth Management’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $456,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. West Paces Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 10.1% during the 1st quarter. West Paces Advisors Inc. now owns 1,283 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $121,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,024 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $375,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. Pinebridge Investments L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Pinebridge Investments L.P. now owns 3,134 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $292,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. M&R Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 6.7% during the 4th quarter. M&R Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,020 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $188,000 after acquiring an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. Finally, United Community Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 6.8% during the 4th quarter. United Community Bank now owns 1,985 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $185,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of the firm’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 approximately $37,425,422.70. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, insider Charles Aubrey Smith III sold 11,200 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider now owns 126,190 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,368,457.10. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 414,870 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,425,422.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 118,154 shares of company stock worth $10,722,696. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $101.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. HSBC lifted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. TheStreet upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $98.30.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 1.6 %

Shares of MS traded down $1.54 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $95.35. 2,776,028 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,609,239. The business has a 50 day moving average of $96.37 and a 200 day moving average of $91.58. The company has a market capitalization of $154.96 billion, a PE ratio of 17.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.38. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $69.42 and a 1-year high of $103.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.97.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.33. The firm had revenue of $15.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.42 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 10.88% 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.70 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 6.82 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 30th were given a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 29th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.57%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 61.93%.

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.