Asset Dedication LLC Sells 106 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Asset Dedication LLC decreased its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 1.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,366 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 106 shares during the period. Asset Dedication LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $1,052,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 34.7% during the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. now owns 22,416 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,818,000 after buying an additional 5,780 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth approximately $70,000. Capital Investment Counsel LLC purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,379,000. BSW Wealth Partners lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 20.1% in the fourth quarter. BSW Wealth Partners now owns 6,591 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $829,000 after purchasing an additional 1,103 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stonegate Investment Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC now owns 99,413 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $12,498,000 after purchasing an additional 526 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Hsbc Global Res cut shares of Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $108.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 25th. Finally, HSBC cut 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 report on Tuesday, November 26th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $131.27.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 0.2 %

NYSE:MS opened at $138.77 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $223.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.48, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $83.09 and a one year high of $141.48. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $129.66 and its 200 day simple moving average is $115.51.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.68. The company had revenue of $16.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.03 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 14.39% and a net margin of 12.48%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 25.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.13 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.49 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be given a $0.925 dividend. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.67%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $26,891,872.80. This trade represents a 6.22 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of the business’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 transaction of $2,380,175.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 81,440 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,076,654.40. The trade was a 17.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.