Northcape Wealth Management LLC Lowers Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Northcape Wealth Management LLC cut its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 5.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 15,591 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 949 shares during the quarter. Northcape Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $1,454,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Capital Wealth Advisors raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 14.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Capital Wealth Advisors now owns 18,133 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,691,000 after purchasing an additional 2,323 shares in the last quarter. Firestone Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at about $208,000. Certuity LLC increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Certuity LLC now owns 203,178 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $18,946,000 after buying an additional 782 shares during the period. Cozad Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth approximately $207,000. Finally, Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 21.7% in the 4th quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 111,904 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,435,000 after purchasing an additional 19,944 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Trading Down 1.4 %

Morgan Stanley stock traded down $1.28 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $90.83. 5,859,814 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,641,185. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $89.79 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $85.58. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $69.42 and a 12-month high of $95.57. The firm has a market cap of $147.75 billion, a PE ratio of 16.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.33. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 10.87% and a net margin of 9.57%. The company had revenue of $15.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.42 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.70 EPS. Morgan Stanley’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 6.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.93%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Cfra increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday, April 18th. HSBC raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $98.30.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In related news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 26,655 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.19, for a total transaction of $2,324,049.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 286,835 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,009,143.65. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 26,655 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.19, for a total value of $2,324,049.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 286,835 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,009,143.65. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.21, for a total value of $9,021,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 414,870 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,425,422.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 237,855 shares of company stock worth $21,084,057 in the last three months. 0.24% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.