Edgestream Partners L.P. Trims Holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Edgestream Partners L.P. lessened its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 63.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,394 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 21,228 shares during the period. Edgestream Partners L.P.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $1,558,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MS. Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 6,156 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $774,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 4,408 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $554,000 after buying an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Perfromance Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Perfromance Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,004 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $378,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 12,298 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,546,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Avestar Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 13,290 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,671,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

NYSE MS opened at $111.61 on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $85.01 and a 12 month high of $142.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $180.00 billion, a PE ratio of 14.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.35. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $132.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $122.20. 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 (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.68. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 14.39% and a net margin of 12.48%. The company had revenue of $16.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.03 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.13 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st were given 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 3.32%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.60%.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.20, for a total value of $1,783,811.40. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 197,444 shares in the company, valued at $26,891,872.80. This represents a 6.22 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,076,654.40. This represents a 17.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $104.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. HSBC cut shares of 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 report on Tuesday, November 26th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective 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. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $131.27.

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.