Bard Financial Services Inc. Sells 250 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Bard Financial Services Inc. lessened its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 2.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,180 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 250 shares during the quarter. Bard Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $1,531,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.6% during the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 644,671 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $62,656,000 after purchasing an additional 22,482 shares during the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 32,345 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,144,000 after acquiring an additional 357 shares during the period. Advisor OS LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $221,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2,051.8% in the 2nd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 143,137 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $13,911,000 after purchasing an additional 136,485 shares during the period. Finally, Umpqua Bank lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 2.0% in the second quarter. Umpqua Bank now owns 12,693 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,234,000 after purchasing an additional 246 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In related news, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.17, for a total value of $7,150,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 138,363 shares in the company, valued at $16,488,718.71. This trade represents a 30.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 2.6 %

MS stock traded up $3.33 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $129.27. The company had a trading volume of 3,014,352 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,943,626. The stock has a market cap of $208.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.68, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.36. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $83.09 and a 52 week high of $136.24. 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 stock’s 50 day moving average price is $127.55 and its 200 day moving average price is $111.58.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.57 by $0.31. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 12.58% and a net margin of 10.64%. The business had revenue of $15.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.27 billion. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 7.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were issued a $0.925 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.86%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.32%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $108.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $135.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. HSBC downgraded Morgan Stanley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $128.00 to $131.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $102.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $123.13.

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.