Rockland Trust Co. Decreases Holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Rockland Trust Co. decreased its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 6.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,060 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 665 shares during the period. Rockland Trust Co.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $1,139,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MS. One Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley during the second quarter valued at $354,000. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 136.4% during the 2nd quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 37,993 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,693,000 after purchasing an additional 21,921 shares during the period. Luts & Greenleigh Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter worth about $208,000. Lmcg Investments LLC grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 3.1% during the 2nd quarter. Lmcg Investments LLC now owns 25,862 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,514,000 after purchasing an additional 782 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Firestone Capital Management raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 7.3% in the 2nd quarter. Firestone Capital Management now owns 2,392 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $232,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MS opened at $124.66 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $128.74 and a 200 day moving average of $113.02. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14. The company has a market capitalization of $200.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.36. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $83.09 and a 52 week high of $136.24.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.57 by $0.31. The firm had revenue of $15.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.27 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 12.58% and a net margin of 10.64%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 7.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on MS. Bank of America boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $140.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. HSBC cut Morgan Stanley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $128.00 to $131.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $106.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Hsbc Global Res downgraded Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $135.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $126.07.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.17, for a total value of $7,150,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 138,363 shares in the company, valued at $16,488,718.71. This trade represents a 30.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.