Capital Investment Counsel Inc Sells 700 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Capital Investment Counsel Inc cut its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 3.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 18,808 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 700 shares during the period. Capital Investment Counsel Inc’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $2,364,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MS. AMF Tjanstepension AB increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 10.9% in the 3rd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 256,360 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,755,000 after buying an additional 25,179 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 9.8% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 112,793 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $11,758,000 after buying an additional 10,107 shares during the last quarter. Eastern Bank increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 231.3% in the 3rd quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 9,218 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $961,000 after buying an additional 6,436 shares during the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 73,405 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,652,000 after buying an additional 1,408 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tanager Wealth Management LLP increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 9.8% in the 3rd quarter. Tanager Wealth Management LLP now owns 4,228 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $441,000 after buying an additional 378 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of MS opened at $134.36 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $132.28 and a 200-day moving average price of $119.50. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $84.43 and a fifty-two week high of $142.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $216.46 billion, a PE ratio of 16.92, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced 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 firm had revenue of $16.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.03 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 14.39%. The company’s revenue was up 25.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.13 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st were paid a dividend of $0.925 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.75%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Morgan Stanley news, 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 transaction of $2,380,175.00. Following the transaction, 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.20, for a total transaction of $1,783,811.40. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 197,444 shares in the company, valued at $26,891,872.80. The trade was a 6.22 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 25th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $146.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target 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. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, HSBC cut shares of Morgan Stanley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $128.00 to $131.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus 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.