Cibc World Markets Corp Cuts Stock Holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Cibc World Markets Corp cut its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 18.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 194,480 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 45,284 shares during the quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $24,450,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MS. SouthState Corp increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 18,354 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,307,000 after purchasing an additional 301 shares in the last quarter. Yardley Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $724,000. SlateStone Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC now owns 5,422 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $682,000 after buying an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. First National Advisers LLC raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. First National Advisers LLC now owns 36,489 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,587,000 after buying an additional 1,557 shares during the period. Finally, GWN Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $255,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of MS stock opened at $118.21 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The company has a market capitalization of $190.66 billion, a PE ratio of 14.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.35. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $131.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $122.62. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $85.01 and a 12 month high of $142.03.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.68. The firm had revenue of $16.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.03 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 14.39% and a net margin of 12.48%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 25.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.13 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st were given a dividend of $0.925 per share. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.13%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 46.60%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MS has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. HSBC cut shares of Morgan Stanley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $128.00 to $131.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. 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. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $146.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $131.27.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In related news, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.