Signet Financial Management LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Signet Financial Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 0.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 61,170 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 337 shares during the quarter. Morgan Stanley accounts for approximately 0.9% of Signet Financial Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest position. Signet Financial Management LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $5,704,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. CGC Financial Services LLC lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 5,200.0% in the fourth quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 265 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. RVW Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 77.3% in the third 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 last quarter. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Janiczek Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 810.8% in the third quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 337 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 300 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 other news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 26,655 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 26,655 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Raja Akram sold 7,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.56, for a total value of $584,920.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 97,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,158,297.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 208,155 shares of company stock worth $18,149,314 in the last quarter. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

NYSE MS traded up $2.04 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $89.03. 13,064,598 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,859,363. The company has a market capitalization of $144.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.43. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $88.59 and a 200-day simple moving average of $84.72. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $69.42 and a 12-month high of $95.57.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.72 by $0.30. The business 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 10.36% and a net margin of 9.49%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.70 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 6.36 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on MS shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and set a $87.00 target price (down previously from $94.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. HSBC upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. 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. UBS Group upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 9th. Finally, Oppenheimer decreased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $109.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $95.66.

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.