Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc. Sells 100 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc. decreased its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 0.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 14,614 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 100 shares during the period. Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $1,837,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Peoples Bank KS purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Curio Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at about $43,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on MS. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. 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. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, 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. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $131.60.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

MS opened at $119.94 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14. The company has a market cap of $193.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.11, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.35. The company’s 50 day moving average is $130.76 and its 200 day moving average is $122.71. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $85.01 and a 12-month high of $142.03.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.68. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 14.39%. The business had revenue of $16.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.13 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st were issued a dividend of $0.925 per share. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of Morgan Stanley 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 sale, the insider now owns 197,444 shares in the company, valued at $26,891,872.80. This trade represents a 6.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of Morgan Stanley 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 81,440 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,076,654.40. The trade was a 17.69 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Company 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.