Summit Trail Advisors LLC Trims Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Summit Trail Advisors LLC lessened its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 14.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 10,874 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,840 shares during the period. Summit Trail Advisors LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $1,014,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. M&R Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 6.7% during the 4th quarter. M&R Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,020 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $188,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares during the period. Corton Capital Inc. increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 2.0% during the 3rd 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 position in Morgan Stanley by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Excalibur Management Corp now owns 13,516 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,104,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares during the period. Hartford Financial Management Inc. increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 17.9% during the 4th quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 917 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $86,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the period. Finally, Waterfront Wealth Inc. increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Waterfront Wealth Inc. now owns 14,613 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,363,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock traded up $1.15 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $94.79. 5,103,496 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,465,847. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $69.42 and a 1 year high of $95.57. The company has a market capitalization of $154.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.41. The business has a fifty day moving average of $90.30 and a two-hundred day moving average of $85.98. 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 (NYSE:MS) last posted 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 net margin of 9.57% and a return on equity of 10.87%. The company had revenue of $15.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.42 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.70 earnings per share. Morgan Stanley’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 6.84 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 paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 29th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.59%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 61.93%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 9th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.