Trust Co. of Vermont Sells 179 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Trust Co. of Vermont trimmed its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 1.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 13,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 179 shares during the quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $1,685,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MS. Peoples Bank KS bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 138.1% during the 3rd quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Planning Capital Management Corp increased its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 191 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE MS opened at $137.78 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $129.05 and a 200-day moving average price of $113.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $221.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.97, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.36. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $83.09 and a 1 year high of $138.08.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.57 by $0.31. The business had revenue of $15.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.27 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 12.58% and a net margin of 10.64%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 7.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st will be given a $0.925 dividend. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is currently 56.32%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on MS. Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. UBS Group upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $102.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $106.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $108.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $129.40.

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.