U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 43.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 21,711 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 16,434 shares during the period. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $2,025,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MS. M&R Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 6.7% in the 4th quarter. M&R Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,020 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $188,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares during the period. Corton Capital Inc. grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.0% in the third quarter. Corton Capital Inc. now owns 6,629 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $541,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the period. Excalibur Management Corp increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.0% during the third quarter. Excalibur Management Corp now owns 13,516 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,104,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 17.9% during the 4th quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 917 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $86,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Waterfront Wealth Inc. lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Waterfront Wealth Inc. now owns 14,613 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,363,000 after buying an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 26,655 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 286,835 shares in the company, valued at $25,009,143.65. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 26,655 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 286,835 shares in the company, valued at $25,009,143.65. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.21, for a total value of $9,021,000.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 414,870 shares in the company, valued at $37,425,422.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 237,855 shares of company stock worth $21,084,057. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 1.1 %

MS traded up $0.99 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $93.64. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 5,043,459 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,976,032. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $69.42 and a fifty-two week high of $95.57. The stock has a market cap of $152.32 billion, a PE ratio of 17.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.41. The business’s 50-day moving average is $90.30 and its 200-day moving average is $85.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.75.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $15.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.42 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.70 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 6.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be issued a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is presently 61.93%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $101.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $98.30.

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.