Centurion Wealth Management LLC Invests $208,000 in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Centurion Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm bought 1,653 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $208,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Peoples Bank KS bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Finally, Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth $48,000. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on MS shares. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Hsbc Global Res downgraded Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Morgan Stanley from $104.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $131.27.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In related news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the firm’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 value of $1,783,811.40. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.01, for a total value of $2,380,175.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 81,440 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,076,654.40. This represents a 17.69 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 3.3 %

Shares of MS stock opened at $115.41 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $186.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.35. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $85.01 and a 12-month high of $142.03. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average price of $131.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $122.51.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.68. The business 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%. Morgan Stanley’s revenue was up 25.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.13 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st were issued a dividend of $0.925 per share. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is presently 46.60%.

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.