Mach 1 Financial Group LLC Has $1.57 Million Holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Mach 1 Financial Group LLC lessened its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 1.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,878 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 294 shares during the period. Mach 1 Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $1,574,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. CGC Financial Services LLC raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 5,200.0% during the 4th quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 265 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 260 shares during the period. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 77.3% in the 3rd quarter. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc now owns 328 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the period. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 123.2% in the 3rd quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 442 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares during the period. Front Row Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 220.6% in the 3rd quarter. Front Row Advisors LLC now owns 452 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 311 shares during the period. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

MS stock traded down $1.28 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $90.83. The stock had a trading volume of 5,859,814 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,641,185. The firm has a market capitalization of $147.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.43. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $69.42 and a 52 week high of $95.57. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $89.90 and a 200 day simple moving average of $85.68. 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 issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.33. The firm had revenue of $15.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.42 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 10.87% and a net margin of 9.57%. Morgan Stanley’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.70 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 6.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Barclays upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $102.00 to $116.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Bank of America upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $87.00 price target (down previously from $94.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $98.30.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.30, for a total transaction of $8,730,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 350,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,555,000. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.30, for a total value of $8,730,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 350,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,555,000. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Charles Aubrey Smith III sold 11,200 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.09, for a total value of $1,009,008.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 126,190 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,368,457.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 237,855 shares of company stock valued at $21,084,057. 0.24% of the stock is currently 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.